Steroids for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Open accessAbstract
Background This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in The Cochrane Library in Issue 1, 2006 and previously updated in 2009.Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) is a clinical diagnosis characterised by a sudden deafness of cochlear or retrocochlear origin in the absence of a clear precipitating cause. Steroids are commonly prescribed to treat this condition. There is no consensus on their effectiveness. Objectives To determine whether steroids in the treatment of ISSHL a) improve hearing (primary) and b) reduce tinnitus (secondary).To determine the incidence of significant side effects from the medication. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group Trials Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); PubMed; EMBASE; CINAHL; Web of Science; Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; ICTRP and additional sources for published and unpublished trials. The date of the most recent search was 22 April 2013. Selection criteria We identified all randomised controlled trials (with or without blinding) in which steroids were evaluated in comparison with either no treatment or a placebo. We considered trials including the use of steroids in combination with another treatment if the comparison control group also received the same other treatment. The two authors reviewed the full-text articles of all the retrieved trials of possible relevance and applied the inclusion criteria independently. Data collection and…
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Systemic steroids, intratympanic or otherwise, are the mainstay of treatment for SSNHL.
“Systemic steroids, intratympanic or otherwise, are the mainstay of treatment although their mechanism of action has not yet been clarified. 4”
From Recurrent sudden sensorineural hearing loss—A literature review (2022) · cites this paper as [4]
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Clinical Practice Guideline: Sudden Hearing Loss (Update)
Chandrasekhar, S. S., Tsai Do, B. S., Schwartz, S. R., Bontempo, L. J., Faucett, E. A., Finestone, S. A., Hollingsworth, D. B., Kelley, D. M., Kmucha, S. T., Moonis, G., et al. (2019) · Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery · doi:10.1177/0194599819859885 · Cited by 931 · see citing works
Crane, R. A., Camilon, M., Nguyen, S., & Meyer, T. A. (2015) · The Laryngoscope · doi:10.1002/lary.24834 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Recurrent sudden sensorineural hearing loss—A literature review
Zhang, B., Wang, Y., & Chan, K. (2022) · Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology · doi:10.1002/lio2.828 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Weng, C.-H., Lin, J.-F., & Wang, J.-J. (2025) · Diagnostics · doi:10.3390/diagnostics15121462 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wei, B. P., Stathopoulos, D., & O'Leary, S.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital/University of Melbourne; Department of Otolaryngology; 32 Gisborne Street Melbourne Victoria 3002 Australia
- Venue
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-07-02
- Volume
- 2013
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- CD003998-CD003998
- ISSN
- 1361-6137 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-1858
- PMC
- PMC7390468
- OpenAlex
- W1482236737
- Cited by
- 354
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 2.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
- Keywords
- idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, steroids, oral corticosteroids, hearing outcomes, tinnitus, adverse drug reactions, treatment effectiveness, risk of bias, treatment duration, risk of bias assessment, meta-analysis heterogeneity, risk of bias in individual studies, risk of bias assessment tools
- MeSH terms
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Hearing Loss, Sudden, Dexamethasone, Glucocorticoids, Hearing Loss, Sensorineural, Humans, Methylprednisolone, Prednisolone, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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