Objective: The pathophysiology of sudden hearing loss remains poorly understood. Research aimed at elucidating its etiology is crucial for the early diagnosis and treatment of patients. This study aimed to clarify the role of inflammation in the etiology of sudden hearing loss, which remains poorly understood, by analyzing the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values associated with inflammatory processes.
Materials and Methods: A chart review of patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss admitted to the hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 was conducted. The study included 35 patients with this condition and 30 healthy individuals for comparison. The significance level was set at p<0.05.
Results: The mean age of the patient group was 48.26, while the mean age of the healthy group was 44.04. In the patient group, 15 were female, and 20 were male. Significant differences were observed in NLR, CAR, and SII values between the recovery and non-recovery idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) groups. The non-recovery group exhibited higher NLR (3.40±0.20), CAR (0.70±0.09), and SII (687.9±76.8) values (with p-values of 0.021, 0.026, and 0.038, respectively). In the ISSHL group, NLR exhibited approximately 87% sensitivity when above 3.41, while SII demonstrated approximately 69.6% sensitivity when exceeding 650.39. (p=0.038 and p=0.037, respectively).
Conclusion: The levels of NLR and SII index might help predict early outcomes in sudden hearing loss of unknown cause.