Hearing loss
engl .: sudden deafness
The type and necessity of therapy for acute hearing loss have repeatedly been critically discussed in recent years. The reason for this was studies that documented an equally rapid healing in patients with and without therapy.
In the past, hearing loss was considered an absolute emergency based on a heart attack. Today, a detailed examination and possible treatment should be carried out as soon as possible, but is no longer an emergency situation. The therapy of first choice in Germany is still one Infusion therapy viewed and carried out, which should allow the blood flow properties to normalize as quickly as possible. This form of therapy is supported by the above-mentioned assumption that a Sudden hearing loss is caused by decreased blood flow.
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Patients are treated for 8-10 days with drugs that promote blood circulation, such as HES (Hydroxyethyl starch), Dextrans or pentoxifylline by infusion. In other countries, acute hearing loss therapy by infusion is not performed. Another possibility of therapy is sometimes aimed at dehydration, since it is assumed that the hearing loss is also caused by an edema that has developed in the inner ear (Water retention) is caused. In this case, mannitol + acetazolamide can be administered over a period of three days. To improve the flow properties of the blood, certain medications can also be given in tablet form. Mention should be made here: Gingko extract, antihypertensive drugs, such as the Calcium antagonist nifedipine.
Assuming that the sudden hearing loss is due to an inflammatory process, anti-inflammatory and immune system-modulating substances can also be administered both in tablet form and via infusion. Drugs from the steroid field (cortisone) are mainly used here. Anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning measures can also be carried out in parallel. If the patient also suffers from tinnitus, a combination with local anesthetics is increasingly being used (Lidocaine Etc).
Surgical procedures that involve closing the smallest cracks in the oval window are carried out in some clinics. Over time it has been found that the effectiveness of many therapies that have been used regularly for a long time is controversial.
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