Younger children have lower recovery rates than adolescents with SSNHL
The recovery rate among adolescents was higher than the recovery rate of children. These are the findings in a South Korean study that investigated age-related treatment outcomes in children and adolescents with SSNHL.
All participants in the study ware diagnosed with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and were divided into two groups:
- Children group (4-12 years old)
- Adolescence group (12-19 years old)
Treatment with systemic steroids
All participants of the study were treated with a 14-day course of systemic steroids, which has become the most widely accepted treatment for both adults and children, according to the study.
Complete or partial recovery
In the study, hearing recovery was defined as complete recovery and partial recovery. Complete recovery was a final hearing level less than 25 dB, and partial recovery was a final hearing from 25 to 45 dB with a hearing gain lower than 15 dB. The complete recovery rate and the partial recovery rate were both defined as hearing recovery in the study.
The total hearing recovery rate for all participants was 55.2%, with 35.8% having total recovery and 19.4% having partial recovery.
Childhood group
The childhood group had a complete recovery rate of 22.7% and a partial recovery rate of 13.6%. Taken together, the total hearing recovery rate of the childhood group was 36.3%.
Adolescence group
The adolescence group had a complete recovery rate of 42.2% and a partial recovery rate of 22.2%. All together, the adolescence group had a total hearing recovery rate of 64.4%.
Therefore, the study found that patients in the childhood group had a lower recovery rate than patients in the adolescence group.
About the study
The study is a retrospective review of 67 patients who were diagnosed with SSNHL at the hospitals at the Medical Center at Seoul National University.
The study “Sudden sensorineural hearing loss in children and adolescents: Clinical characteristics and age-related prognosis” was published in Auris Nasus Larynx in August 2017.
Sources: http://www.aurisnasuslarynx.com/