Hyperbaric oxygen and stellate ganglion blocks for idiopathic sudden hearing loss

Ninety-one patients suffering from idiopathic sudden hearing loss are presented. Twenty-two patients were given medical treatment (vasodilators, steroid hormones and vitamins) alone (group 1). Forty-nine patients were treated with stellate ganglion block (SGB) plus oxygen hyperbaric therapy (OHP) (group 2) and 20 patients were treated with SGB plus OHP along with medical treatment (group 3). The SGB plus OHP treated patients were given bupivacaine, which induced Moor's anterior approach of SGB and then exposed to oxygen at a pressure of 2.4 ATA for 90 min. In group 1, 69% of the patients treated within one week after onset exhibited over 10 dB pure tone average improvement, with only 33% patients treated one to two weeks after onset experiencing over 10 dB. However, 74% of the patients in group 2 and 100% of the patients in group 3 who were treated within two weeks after onset exhibited over 10 dB improvement. More significantly, of the patients which experienced complete loss of hearing, 83% in group 2 and 100% in group 3, exhibited over 10 dB improvement, compared to only 33% in group 1. Moreover, 8 (40%) patients in group 3 recovered to within 20 dB of their normal hearing levels. In group 2, 17 patients were treated two to six weeks after onset and 12 (71%) patients had over 10 dB improvement. SGB plus OHP therapy was shown effective in the treatment of sudden idiopathic hearing loss even when patients were treated more than two weeks after onset.