High-Dose Glucocorticoids for Treating Sudden Hearing Loss: Cart before the Horse?

Yin, Jun; Mandrekar, Sumithra J · NEJM Evid · 2024

editorial · Level V

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Abstract

Hearing impairment is the most common sensory deficit. It affects 2 to 3 of 1000 newborns and nearly 50% of adults 75 years of age and older in the United States.<sup>1</sup> Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is characterized by an abrupt hearing loss requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment. Systemic glucocorticoids are widely used as the primary treatment for ISSNHL,<sup>2</sup> but no head-to-head comparisons of the effectiveness and risk profiles of high doses over a more commonly used lower dose of glucocorticoids have been conducted to inform standard-of-care practice.

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