Management of sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A consultant survey

A questionnaire was sent to 100 consultant otolaryngologists from three sel ected health regions in the United Kingdom enquiring about their assessment and management of a patient presenting with sudden-onset sensorineural hea ring loss. Seventy-six replied, of whom 42 stated a sub-specialist interest in otology. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents would order routine bloo d tests including the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and syphilis ser ology; in addition 38 per cent would order a magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan at the first presentation. The vast majority would treat such a patie nt (89 per cent), although the method and combination varied widely. A revi ew of the literature confirmed that the level of evidence for treating this condition is limited and therefore the wide disparity in consultants' prac tice is not surprising.