2013 Volume 106 Issue 3 Pages 203-206
In order to clarify the role of arteriosclerosis in the development of and recovery from sudden deafness, we evaluated arteriosclerosis in patients with sudden deafness, using pulse wave velocity (PWV) as a marker. Arteriosclerosis was observed in 69% of the sudden deafness patients and the initial hearing level in the patients with arteriosclerosis was worse than those without arteriosclerosis. After treatment with a steroid and lipid microsphere-incorporated prostaglandin E1 (lipo-PGE1), the recovery rate of the patients with arteriosclerosis was significantly lower than those without arteriosclerosis. These findings suggest that arteriosclerosis is an exacerbating condition and a poor prognostic factor in patients with sudden deafness. On the other hand, PWV in the patients with arteriosclerosis who recovered tended to decrease after the treatment, suggesting that the circulation-improving effect of lipo-PGE1 may contribute to the recovery of the hearing loss related to arteriosclerosis.