Rhee TM, et al. - Researchers compared hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) + medical therapy (MT) vs MT alone as a treatment for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Findings from this meta-analysis significantly favored HBOT plus standard medical therapy (MT) over MT alone for complete hearing recovery and any hearing recovery, as well as for absolute hearing gain. HBOT seemed to be more beneficial in those with severe hearing loss at baseline or who failed to recover after MT.

Methods

• Via systematically searching PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews up to February 2018, researchers identified randomized clinical trials and nonrandomized studies comparing HBOT + MT with MT alone for SSNHL treatment for inclusion.
• The eligible studies were independently screened by two investigators, followed by data establishment, and quality and risk of bias assessment.
• Using random-effects models, they conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis.
• Complete hearing recovery was included as the primary outcome, and any hearing recovery and absolute hearing gain were included as the secondary outcomes.

Results

• Researchers included 3 randomized clinical trials and 16 nonrandomized studies comparing outcomes after HBOT + MT vs MT alone in 2401 patients with SSNHL (mean age, 45.4 years; 55.3% female).
• The HBOT + MT group showed significantly higher pooled odds ratios (ORs) for complete hearing recovery and any hearing recovery than those observed in the MT alone group (complete hearing recovery OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.05-2.44 and any hearing recovery OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.20-1.67).
• Further, the HBOT + MT group showed significantly greater absolute hearing gain than that observed in the MT alone group.
• Groups with severe to profound hearing loss at baseline, HBOT as a salvage treatment, and a total HBOT duration of at least 1200 minutes showed greater benefits of HBOT.