are they different from unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss?
AIM: To compare bilateral (BSSHL) with unilateral (USSHL) sudden sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS AND SUBJECTS: Two hundred and thirty-two patients with USSHL, 11 with simultaneous BSSHL and 7 with sequential BSSHL, who were older than 15 years had onset of hearing loss <30 days, no head injuries or history of acoustic trauma. All patients received the same treatment (prednisolone). RESULTS: Hearing loss was more severe in simultaneous BSSHL in comparison to sequential BSSHL (p = 0.01) or USSHL (p = 0.03). Autoimmune diseases were far more common in simultaneous BSSHL (36% of patients) than USSHL. Positive antinuclear antibody was found in half of BSSHL patients and in only 8% of unilateral cases (p = 0.01). The frequency of hearing improvement was much lower in simultaneous BSSHL than in USSHL (p = 0.001). Complete or partial improvement was noted in 74% of unilateral cases versus 27% in simultaneous bilateral cases. Patients with sequential BSSHL improved in a similar way to unila
AIM: To compare bilateral (BSSHL) with unilateral (USSHL) sudden sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS AND SUBJECTS: Two hundred and thirty-two patients with USSHL, 11 with simultaneous BSSHL and 7 with sequential BSSHL, who were older than 15 years had onset of hearing loss <30 days, no head injuries or history of acoustic trauma. All patients received the same treatment (prednisolone). RESULTS: Hearing loss was more severe in simultaneous BSSHL in comparison to sequential BSSHL (p = 0.01) or USSHL (p = 0.03). Autoimmune diseases were far more common in simultaneous BSSHL (36% of patients) than USSHL. Positive antinuclear antibody was found in half of BSSHL patients and in only 8% of unilateral cases (p = 0.01). The frequency of hearing improvement was much lower in simultaneous BSSHL than in USSHL (p = 0.001). Complete or partial improvement was noted in 74% of unilateral cases versus 27% in simultaneous bilateral cases. Patients with sequential BSSHL improved in a similar way to unila