Comparison of Auditory Outcomes between Inpatient- and Outpatient-Based Treatment in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Objective: The primary treatment for sudden hearing loss is high-dose steroid therapy. In some countries, hospitalization has been taken for granted. Although most countries appear to treat sudden hearing loss on an outpatient basis, some other countries have considered hospitalization as necessary. Only a few studies have been conducted on the effect of hospitalization on hearing outcomes. Therefore, we compared the hearing outcome of inpatient- and outpatient-based treatments to determine whether hospitalization affects the recovery of sudden hearing loss. Methods: We conducted a retrospective case review of patients diagnosed with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). In total, 439 patients with SSNHL were enrolled and categorized as either inpatients (group I) or outpatients (group O). Pure-tone audiometry was initially performed before the treatment and 3 months post-treatment. “Recovery” was defined as a hearing gain of 15 dB HL and a final hearing of better than 25 dB. “No recovery” was defined as an improvement of hearing gain of 0.05). Conclusions: This retrospective study showed that inpatient treatment for sudden hearing loss is more beneficial for hearing improvement than outpatient treatment. The positive effect of inpati