Cocktail regimen in treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a cocktail regimen for the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). A prospective observational study. Tertiary care hospital. Thirty-five patients diagnosed with SSNHL who met the inclusion criteria. The cocktail regimen included intratympanic steroid injections, oral steroids, valacyclovir, and pentoxifylline. The primary outcome was the change in Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) from pre-treatment to 3 months post-treatment, analyzed by Modified Siegel’s criteria. Of the 35 patients, 26 (74.2%) showed hearing improvement (including complete and partial recovery) at the 3-month follow-up. The mean improvement in PTA was 22.56 dB (SD = 18.4). However, the calculated odds ratios (OR) for treatment efficacy and hearing recovery comparisons were 1.0, with wide confidence intervals, indicating no statistically significant differences between improved and not improved groups. The cocktail regimen showed potential benefits for hearing recovery in SSNHL patients, particularly in cases with less severe initial hearing loss. Nevertheless, the absence of a statistically significant difference in the comparative analyses underscores the need for larger, randomized controlled trials to substantiate these findings.