The role of hyperbarc oxygen treatment and ozone therapy in the cases sudden loss of hearing

The aim of this study is to present and compare the results of three therapeutic protocols used in our department for treatment of patients with sudden hearing loss. The effectiveness of steroid, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and ozone therapy was compared. The patients who had been undergone medical therapy in Akdeniz University Ear Nose Throat Department between January 2010- June 2012 with the diagnosis of sudden hearing loss were included in this study. The present study investigated 106 subjects with sudden hearing loss. 62 male, 44 female, (aged 17-81 years, mean age 50) were included into this study. Age, gender, laterality, degree of hearing loss and audiogram configurations were analyzed in this study. These patients were divided into three groups according to treatment regimens of sudden hearing loss. First group called Group A had oral steroid therapy, the second group called Group B had combination of oral steroid therapy and HBOT, the third group called Group C had combination of oral steroid therapy and ozone therapy. Oral steroid group (Group A) consisted of 63 patients, oral steroid + HBOT group (Group B) 26, oral steroid+ozone therapy group (Group C) 17cases. Treatment results were evaluated using the Siegel criteria. When mean gains in the frequencies 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz above 15 dB were considered as response to therapy, i.e. changes in mean gains different from ?no response? according to Siegel criteria, the best response was in the oral steroid + ozone therapy group with 82,4%; the second best response was in oral steroid+HBO group with 61,5% followed by oral steroid group with 50,8%. The comperission of ratio of patients responding to therapy; group C was statistically significantly better than group A (p=0,019) No difference was found between A and B groups (p<0,355) and between B and C groups (p=1). The effectiveness of steroid therapy in patients with profound hearing loss was found signifiicantly low. The addition of either ozone therapy or hyperbaric oxygen therapy were found statistically beneficial to the success of treatment