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Updated: Mar 20, 2026
Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Published on: January 25, 2016
Characteristics and Spontaneous Recovery of Tinnitus Related to Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Guido Mühlmeier1, David Baguley, Tony Cox
1*Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, German Armed Forces Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany†Department of Audiology, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, United Kingdom‡Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Jessa Hospital, Hasselt, Belgium§Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Martha Maria Hospital, Munich, Germany||Auris Medical AG, Basel, Switzerland.
Objective:
To evaluate the characteristics and spontaneous recovery of tinnitus related to idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).
Study Design:
Retrospective analysis from two randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials for treatment of ISSNHL within 48 hours from onset (Study A), or of tinnitus related to ISSNHL within 3 months from onset (Study B).
Setting:
Forty-eight European sites (academic tertiary referral centers, private ENT practices).
Patients:
One hundred thirteen adult patients of which 65 with hearing loss ≥30 dB (Study A) and 48 with persistent acute tinnitus (Study B) at baseline.
Interventions:
Intratympanic (i.t.) injection of placebo gel in single dose or in triple dose during 3 consecutive days.
Main Outcome Measures:
Frequency of tinnitus, subjective tinnitus loudness, rates of complete tinnitus remission, and complete hearing recovery during 3 months follow-up.
Results:
In acute ISSNHL, tinnitus loudness decreased rapidly in cases of mild-moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus had completely resolved in two-thirds of patients after 3 months. Hearing recovery preceded tinnitus resolution. When associated with severe-profound hearing loss, tinnitus improved significantly less. Complete hearing recovery and full tinnitus remission were both about three times more frequent in mild-moderate hearing loss patients than in severe-profound cases. Improvement in tinnitus loudness over time can be approximated by a negative exponential function.
Conclusions:
Prognosis for ISSNHL-related tinnitus is relatively poor in case of severe-profound hearing loss and the longer it has persisted. Alleviation or management of tinnitus should be a key therapeutic objective especially in pronounced ISSNHL cases.
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