2022/12/23
Keio University School of Medicine
Tokai University School of Medicine
A research group, including Joint Researcher Nobuyoshi Tsuzuki (Researcher, Department of Auditory and Vestibular Research, Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center) and Associate Professor Naoki Oishi of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, and Associate Professor Koichiro Wasano of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tokai University School of Medicine, conducted a multicenter retrospective observational study (a study using information collected before the research began) on sudden sensorineural hearing loss. They revealed that arteriosclerotic factors are associated not only with the severity of sudden sensorineural hearing loss but also with hearing loss in the contralateral ear (the ear not affected by the sudden hearing loss), and that the presence of moderate or greater hearing loss in the contralateral ear makes recovery from sudden sensorineural hearing loss more difficult. Furthermore, the study yielded a new finding that the use of anticoagulants (medications that thin the blood) at the time of onset is associated with non-recovery from sudden sensorineural hearing loss (failure of hearing to recover in the affected ear after treatment).
This suggests the importance of evaluating arteriosclerotic factors in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and of assessing hearing not only in the affected ear (the ear where sudden hearing loss occurred) but also in the contralateral ear, which is not included in the diagnostic criteria. Additionally, for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who are taking anticoagulants, the findings suggest a need to suspect inner ear hemorrhage or infarction (necrosis of cell tissue due to restricted blood flow) and to clarify the specific clinical picture by performing early imaging tests (MRI) and detailed auditory and vestibular function tests. This research is expected to advance the elucidation of the clinical picture of sudden sensorineural hearing loss caused by impaired blood flow to the inner ear and the establishment of diagnostic methods for inner ear hemorrhage and inner ear infarction (blockage of blood vessels to the inner ear) through appropriate imaging and auditory/vestibular function tests.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of Scientific Reports , a Nature Publishing Group journal, on December 13, 2022 (UK time).
For the full press release, please see below.