Edaravone,a free radical scavenger,in the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss with profound hearing loss

Objective

Edaravone, a free radical scavenger, is a clinical drug that is widely used to reduce neuronal damage after acute cerebral infarction in Japan since 2001. The aim of this study was to investigate whether edaravone could improve treatment result in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) patients with severe hearing loss.

Methods

Between 2004 and 2006, 14 patients of ISSHL with the mean hearing levels equal or over 90 dB at the initial visit were treated with edaravone. 14 counterpart control patients were selected from 45 patients who had similar prognostic factors and were treated with hyperbaric oxygenation therapy (HBO) in the past decade.

Results

There were no significant differences between edaravone group and the control group in hearing recovery.

Conclusion

We considered that edaravone was not able to bring remarkable effect compared with conventional treatment regimen for ISSHL.