6: Current Medical Treatments for Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a symptom that may reflect a myriad of causes, and combines both cochlear (‘sensory’) and neural (nerve and/or brain) potential sites of lesion or injury. Therefore, there are several possible medical treatments for SNHL, and they are as targeted as possible to potential pathophysiological states. In this chapter, SNHL has been categorized as we often think of the clinical presentations, with treatments discussed for each, including presbycusis, noise-related hearing loss, fluctuating hearing loss, and sudden SNHL. As we learn more about correlations between untreated hearing loss and depression, isolation, and even dementia, it becomes all the more important to treat patients as best as possible to reverse the hearing loss. The reader should also keep in mind that hearing aid technology is an important part of our armamentarium and patients should be encouraged in their use if there is inadequate hearing recovery.