Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of gradually declining sudden sensorineural hearing loss
CUI Qingxuan
GUO Feifei
CHEN Guohui
ZHAO Xiaohui
MA Suwei
GUO Jiayu
LIU Jing
WANG Dayong
Abstract：Objective To report clinical characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of patients with gradually declining sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL).Methods Clinical data of 52 patients with gradually declining SSNHL admitted to the PLA General Hospital from 2008 to 2025 were retrospectively analyzed,including demographic data,pathogenic precipitators,accompanying symptoms,comorbidities and audiological features.Therapeutic outcomes was compared among patients with different time courses of continued hearing decline until the worst level(i.e.＜3 days and 3～7 days).Results At least one precipitator was identified in 34.6%(18/52)of patients,with staying up late being the most common(21.2%,11/52).The main accompanying symptoms were tinnitus(94.2%,49/52)and aural fullness(57.7%,30/52),and vertigo developed in 23.1%(12/52)of patients after hearing loss progressed to the worst level.The most common comorbidities were hypertension(21.2%,11/52)and diabetes mellitus(11.5%,6/52).Audiologically,most patients showed involvement of all frequencies(94.2%,49/52),with total deafness being the most prevalent(73.1%,38/52)and showing the worst degree of hearing loss(44.2%,23/52).The rate of overall treatment effectiveness was 82.7%(43/52):84.4%for the＜3 days group and 80%for the 3～7 days group.In terms of frequency-specific hearing recovery,the had higher the rates of complete recovery and overall effectiveness for low-frequencies(25%,8/32 and 87.5%,28/32 for the＜3 days group,and 15.6%,5/32 and 71.9%,23/32 for the 3～7 days group)were better than for high-frequencies(25%,5/20 and 75%,15/20 for the＜3 days group,and 10%,2/20 and 70%,14/20 for the 3～7 days group).Conclusions Patients with progressively declining SSNHL are characterized by continued hearing decline often involving all frequencies,severe hearing impairment,and frequent accompaniment of tinnitus,aural fullness,and vertigo.This type of SSNHL has a favorable therapeutic response,with better outcomes in patients whose hearing loss stops progressing in＜3 days.Additionally,low-frequency hearing recovery is often superior to high-frequency hearing recovery.
Keywords：sudden hearing lossclinical characteristicsprognosisefficacy
Publication Date：2026-03-20
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-19(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 216-220 )