What Researchers Did
Korean researchers evaluated 218 patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, comparing oral steroids alone, oral plus intratympanic steroids, and oral plus intratympanic steroids plus HBOT within groups based on hearing loss severity.
What They Found
In patients with 60-79 dB hearing loss, triple therapy including HBOT showed significantly better mid-term recovery: 51.25 dB improvement versus 38.13 dB with steroids plus injection and 27.50 dB with oral steroids alone. In profound loss above 80 dB, HBOT did not produce a significant benefit.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadians who experience sudden hearing loss in the 60-79 dB range, adding HBOT to steroid therapy ideally within the first days can meaningfully accelerate and improve hearing recovery. Those with profound loss above 80 dB are less likely to benefit.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This was a retrospective study with group assignment not randomized; differences in patient selection between groups may have influenced outcomes.