High-Dose Glucocorticoids for Treating Sudden Hearing Loss: Cart before the Horse?

Hearing impairment is the most common sensory deficit. It affects 2 to 3 of 1000 newborns and nearly 50% of adults 75 years of age and older in the United States.1 Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is characterized by an abrupt hearing loss requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment. Systemic glucocorticoids are widely used as the primary treatment for ISSNHL,2 but no head-to-head comparisons of the effectiveness and risk profiles of high doses over a more commonly used lower dose of glucocorticoids have been conducted to inform standard-of-care practice.