A Clinical Study of Acyclovir Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Abstract

The etiology of sudden sensorineural hearing loss is unknown, but viral infection is suspected as one possible cause. We retrospectively studied 102 sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients to evaluate the efficacy of acyclovir therapy. Acyclovir had been administered to 25 patients as single therapy or in combination with corticosteroid or batroxobin. They were given 750 mg of acyclovir per day intravenously. These patients were compared with the other 77 patients treated without acyclovir. Hearing recovery was assessed by the criteria of the Sudden Deafness Research Group of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. In the patients treated with acyclovir, the rate of complete recovery was 56.0%, the rate of recovery was 80. 0%, and the rate of efficiency was 88.0%. We found significantly better recovery in the group therapy by acyclovir than in the group without acyclovir.