Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 26, 2021; 9(36): 11311-11319
Published online Dec 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i36.11311
Audiological characteristics and exploratory treatment of a rare condition of acute-otitis-media-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Xin Cao, Hai-Jin Yi
Xin Cao, Hai-Jin Yi, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China
Author contributions: Yi HJ designed and coordinated the study, interpreted the data; Cao X performed the experiments, acquired and analyzed data; all authors wrote the manuscript and approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, No. 21192-6-01.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Jin Yi, MD, Chief Physician, Full Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, No. 168 Litang Road, Changping District, Beijing 102218, China. caoxin19860201@163.com
Received: June 28, 2021
Peer-review started: June 28, 2021
First decision: July 26, 2021
Revised: July 27, 2021
Accepted: November 5, 2021
Article in press: November 5, 2021
Published online: December 26, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common disease in children, affecting > 80% of children before the age of 3 years. AOM-associated sudden sensorineural hearing loss is a rare otological disorder, and the mechanism and treatment methods remain to be investigated.

Research motivation

If AOM-associated sudden hearing loss is not treated on time, it might cause permanent hearing loss. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of AOM-associated sudden hearing loss are important.

Research objectives

This study aimed to describe the audiological features of the patients with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss and evaluate the clinical efficacy of tympanostomy tube placement (TTP) and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection after failure of conventional medical therapy.

Research methods

Patients with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss who visited the Department of Otolaryngology of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital between October 1, 2018 and June 1, 2020 and were ineffectively treated by conventional medical therapy were enrolled in this study. Basic data were collected, and pure-tone audiometry was performed to assess the audiological characteristics. Combination therapy with TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection was given to the patients.

Research results

Mixed or sensorineural hearing loss was observed at high frequencies (2–4 kHz). All the patients in this study were cured after TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone. After treatment, the average hearing threshold at affected frequencies was significantly lower than those in the pretreatment group and was similar to those in the healthy ears.

Research conclusions

Our study indicated that AOM may rarely induce sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and high frequencies (2–4 kHz) are often involved. Combination therapy with TTP and intratympanic methylprednisolone injection may be a good salvage treatment modality for patients with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss after failure of conventional treatment.

Research perspectives

Our study may bring more chances for recovery of patients with AOM-associated sudden hearing loss after failure of conventional treatment. However, our findings remain to be verified by well-designed studies with a large sample size.