The Effect of Vestibular Migraine on the Prognosis of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

PURPOSE: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is an otologic emergency with often unclear etiology. Vestibular migraine (VM) is a neurological disorder that may coexist with auditory symptoms and potentially affect hearing outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of VM in patients with idiopathic SSNHL and assess its impact on hearing recovery after treatment.

METHOD: Forty-three patients aged 20-71 years with idiopathic SSNHL were included. All underwent audiological evaluation and were assessed for VM using the Bárány Society criteria. Hearing recovery was evaluated based on Siegel criteria. Clinical features and hearing outcomes were compared between the VM and non-VM groups.

RESULTS

VM was diagnosed in 10 (23.3%) patients and migraine in 14 (32.6%). The mean age was 52.5 ± 14.0 years in the VM group and 44.7 ± 14.6 in the non-VM group. No significant differences were found between groups in age, gender, comorbidities, or baseline/posttreatment hearing thresholds (p > .05). Treatment response was also similar (p = .197).

CONCLUSIONS

VM is relatively frequent in patients with idiopathic SSNHL, but does not significantly influence hearing severity or recovery. Further studies with larger samples are needed to clarify the relationship between VM and SSNHL.