Analysis of Adherence to AAO-HNSF Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sudden Hearing Loss

To assess adherence to the 2019 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNSF) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of sudden hearing loss (SHL) and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Retrospective cohort.

TriNetX, a de-identified healthcare database.

Evaluation focused on the percentage of patients undergoing proper guideline-adherent workup and treatment for SHL. Key measures include audiogram testing within 2 weeks for distinguishing SSNHL from CHL. For SSNHL patients, MRI or auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing should be obtained, and steroids and/or hyperbaric oxygen may be offered within 2 weeks.

There were 24,203 SHL patients, 59.1% (n = 14,309) of whom underwent recommended audiogram testing, with 35.8% (n = 8,674) completing it within 2 weeks. Overall, 3,107 were diagnosed with unilateral SSNHL, 104 with unilateral conductive hearing loss (CHL), 121 with mixed hearing loss, and 10,977 were lost to follow-up. Among 3,107 SSNHL cases, just 25.5% (n = 791) obtained MRI/ABR within 1 month, and vestibular schwannoma was diagnosed in 3.5% (n = 28). Additionally, steroids were prescribed to 54.5% (n = 1,692), and <0.3% (n ≤ 10) received hyperbaric oxygen. In accordance with strong recommendations against or insufficient evidence to support the following diagnostics and treatments, 2.0% (n = 63) underwent a CT scan, less than 0.3% (n ≤ 10) were prescribed vasodilators or thrombolytics, and 3.5% (n = 108) were on antivirals.

There is a significant opportunity for improvement in evaluating patients with SHL, specifically SSNHL. Proper adherence to guidelines may improve screening, detection, and management of neurotologic pathologies, including vestibular schwannoma.