Systematic review of the evidence for the etiology of adult sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

The suspected etiologies for patients suffering sudden sensorineural hearing loss included idiopathic (71.0%), infectious disease (12.8%), otologic disease (4.7%), trauma (4.2%), vascular or hematologic (2.8%), neoplastic (2.3%), and other causes (2.2%). Establishment of a direct causal link between SSNHL and these etiologies remains elusive. Diagnostic imaging is a useful method for identification of temporal bone or intracranial pathology that can present with SSNHL as a primary symptom.