What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted a systematic review of six randomized controlled trials to evaluate hyperbaric oxygen therapy for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus.
What They Found
Pooled analysis of 304 subjects from six trials showed a significantly increased chance of a 25% improvement in hearing threshold with HBOT (relative risk 1.39, p=0.02), with a number-needed-to-treat of 5. However, a 50% improvement was not significant, and tinnitus improvement could not be assessed due to poor reporting.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Based on this review, routine hyperbaric oxygen therapy for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss is not currently recommended for Canadian patients. While some hearing improvement was noted, its clinical significance is unclear, and more research is needed to determine its practical benefit.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
A key limitation was the inability to assess the significance of tinnitus improvement due to poor reporting, and the clinical significance of the observed hearing improvement remains unclear.