2026/06/02 by Ching Yee Chan, Joshua Nadler, Sheng Yep Brian Yeo +2
paper · doi:10.1017/s0022215126105088
crossref issued 2026/06/02 · crossref published 2026/06/02 · crossref published-online 2026/06/02 · crossref created 2026/06/02 · crossref deposited 2026/07/13 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30
Abstract Objectives Up to 60 per cent of patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome experience sudden hearing loss. This review analyses treatment options and outcomes when sudden hearing loss occurs. Methods Embase, Ovid MEDLINE and Web of Science databases were the data sources. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and was registered on PROSPERO. The number of patients, episodes, treatments, baseline hearing and change in hearing thresholds after intervention and return to baseline were extracted. Results The final analysis included 60 episodes of hearing loss from 11 studies, from a search of 1,064 studies. The treatment groups were: 1, no treatment; 2, systemic steroids; 3, salvage hyperbaric oxygen therapy in steroid partial or non-responders. The hearing improvement across the groups was 9.1 per cent, 50 per cent and 89.5 per cent, respectively. Conclusion Enlarged vestibular aqueduct patients with sudden hearing loss may first be treated with systemic steroids. Salvage hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be considered in steroid non-responders to improve further chances of recovery.