Host/Editor: Dr. Alla Turshudzhyan, Chief Medical Resident at UCONN.
There are two major categories of hearing loss – conductive and sensorineural. By far, the most common is presbycusis, which is an age related sensorineural hearing loss. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by viral infection, medications, barotrauma, loud noise, as well as some autoimmune conditions such as Sjogren or Cogan syndromes. Timely steroid therapy is crucial and should be initiated within 2 weeks, ideally, but can be given up to 8 weeks from the symptom onset. Valacyclovir can be a consideration but only in patients who present within 48 hour from symptom onset. Over the counter hearing aids have become a promising alternative to prescription hearing aids, but the data on their efficacy is limited. Lastly, auditory rehabilitation should be considered in any patients with hearing loss.
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