돌발성난청의 예후 추정인자로서 일과성 유발이음향방사의 의의

Background and Objectives: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISHL) remains a controversial topic. So far, there are no proven objective auditory factors to establish prognosis. Transiently otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) reflect the functional integrity of the outer hair cells. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of TEOAEs in the early stages of ISHL cases as a prognostic indicator. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical or audiological records of 53 patients (53 ears) who were admitted to the Department of Otolaryngology, Pusan National University Hospital from May 2005 to May 2006. Before treatment was started, pure tone audiometry (PTA) and TEOAEs were tested. After treatment was finished, PTA was tested and we determined the degree of improvement. Simultaneously we evaluated age, accompaning symptoms, concurrent diseases, time of initial treatment, initial degree of hearing loss as prognostic indicators. Results: The presence of TEOAEs on early examination was significantly correlated with PTA threshold improvement. TEOAEs were detected in 9 patients and in detected group, 8 patients (88.9%) improved in hearing. However only 21 (47.7%) of non pass 44 patients in TEOAEs had hearing impairment. So there was statistically signi-ficant between hearing impairment of two groups. Other factors were not correlated with PTA improvement. Conclusion: We consider TEOAEs might serve as a clinical tool for prediction of recovery in ISHL cases. Good hearing recovery is considered to be associated with initial degree of hearing loss and presence of TEOAEs. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2009;20:28–33)