Utility of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Acute Acoustic Trauma: 20 years' Experience at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Undersea Medical Center

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Acute acoustic trauma, which is a kind of sensorineural hearing loss, is caused by acoustic overstimulation. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is reported to be effective against acute acoustic trauma. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of HBOT against acoustic hearing loss based on our 20 years of experience with such cases. Methods: Patients who were treated with HBOT for acute acoustic trauma between April 1997 and August 2017 were evaluated in this study. Thirty-five patients with a mean age of 25.7 ± 9.2 (range 16­48) years were included. Thirty-nine out of 70 ears (35 patients) were damaged. We investigated the initial level of hearing loss; the extent to which hearing recovered; subjective symptoms, such as tinnitus and aural fullness; and the treatment administered. Results: The planned HBOT was completed in 37 of 39 ears. Twenty-six of the 37 ears (70.2%) displayed improved hearing, and 31 of the 37 ears (83.9%) exhibited symptom improvement. Twenty-three (76.7%) and 26 (86.7%) of the 30 ears treated with steroids demonstrated improvements in hearing and subjective symptoms, respectively. Conclusion: A combination of HBOT and steroids should be considered as a treatment for acute acoustic trauma in cases involving symptoms such as tinnitus and aural fullness (AU)