Acyclovir in the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is a vexing problem that continues to pose a diagnostic and therapeutic enigma for the otologist. The aim of the study, adopting the viral theory, was to discover whether patients with ISSNHL would benefit from early treatment with acyclovir and hydrocortisone compared with patients treated by hydrocortisone alone. METHODS: Sixty patients with ISSNHL were treated in a prospective controlled randomized manner. Patients were seen within 7 days of onset and were divided randomly into 2 groups. The study group patients were treated with acyclovir and hydrocortisone, whereas those in the control group were treated with hydrocortisone alone. RESULTS: We compared the 2 groups before and after treatment regarding SRT, mean hearing level at each frequency, speech reception threshold improvement, gender, age, tinnitus, and balance complaints. The overall improvement was 78%. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there probably is no benefit from the addition of acyclovir in the treatment of ISSNHL.