Clinical features and short-term outcomes of bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss: an eight-year experience at a tertiary center.

Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) typically affects one ear and is often linked to various underlying causes. However, bilateral SSNHL (BSSHL), where both ears are affected, is much rarer and presents a more severe clinical challenge.

Aims/objectives: To report the clinical features and short-term outcomes of patients with BSSHL.

Material and methods: The clinical features and outcomes of cases with BSSHL treated in between January 2016 and November 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: A total of 1212 cases with SSNHL were collected, and only 24 cases showed BSSHL (2.0%). The average hearing thresholds before treatment in the simultaneous onset group were significantly higher than that of the sequential onset group (p < .05). After prednisolone therapy, the effective rate of cases treated within 7 days was 18.2%, significantly higher than that of cases (0%) treated after 7 days (p < .05).

Conclusions and significance: BSSHL is more common in females and may be related to viral infection. Simultaneous BSSHL is more common than sequential BSSHL. Hearing loss in patients with simultaneous onset of BSSHL is more severe than those with sequential onset. Prednisolone treatment for BSSHL within 7 days is critical for recovery.