Audiological outcomes and related clinical indicators of intratympanic steroid injection therapy in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and alcohol consumption

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is an acute otologic disorder with heterogeneous clinical presentations and diverse hearing recovery outcomes. Alcohol consumption has been implicated in vascular and metabolic alterations that may affect inner ear function; however, its influence on hearing outcomes following intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) remains unclear....

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Clinicians treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients with a history of alcohol use should monitor this study's findings, but the results require review of the full paper before changing intratympanic steroid injection protocols.

Understanding how alcohol consumption affects treatment response to intratympanic steroid injection could help clinicians better stratify and counsel sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients.

1. 01Study published in American Journal of Otolaryngology (PMID 42790176).
2. 02Focuses on intratympanic steroid injection — steroids delivered directly into the middle ear — for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).
3. 03Alcohol consumption is examined as a clinical variable that may influence audiological outcomes.
4. 04Identifies clinical indicators that correlate with treatment response in this subpopulation.
5. 05Adds nuance to SSNHL management by highlighting a potentially under-studied patient risk factor.

PMID

42790176

DOI

10.1016/j.amjoto.2026.104945.

Journal

American Journal of Otolaryngology

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

4

Population

Patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who consume alcohol, treated with intratympanic steroid injection

Intervention

Intratympanic steroid injection therapy