SMOKING; AS A RISK AND PROGNOSTIC FACTOR FOR SUDDEN SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS

Abstract

Introduction: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is commonly defined as sudden hearing impairement of more than 30 dB across three contiguous frequencies in less than 3 days and affects an estimated 5 to 20 per 100,000 people in a year. About the effect of cigaratte smoking on treatment results of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, although there are only a limited information in several studies, as it is found that there is no study to investigate effects of smoking in various frequencies in means of decibel difference. We specifically evaluated hearing loss in different frequencies by examining the differences pre and post therapy between smokers and non smokers. This study is thought to be a first in this field.