Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The etiopathogenesis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is not clearly defined. Inflammation is being emphasized in its etiology. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are the parameters that show inflammation that can be obtained easily without additional cost. In this study, we aimed at delineating the relationship between SSNHL and the inflammation markers NLR and PLR.

MATERIALS and METHODS: This study was performed with 102 patients diagnosed with SSNHL and 119 sex- and age-matched controls. All subjects in the study and the control group had their complete blood count (CBC) results, which were evaluated retrospectively to calculate NLR and PLR values. All patients underwent an audiological examination on the 1st, 3rd, 10th, and 30th days of the hearing loss. All patients received 1 mg/kg IV prednisolone treatment in tapered amounts to be completed in 15 days. Based on the improvements seen in the audiograms, the patients were divided into two groups: responders and non-responders to treatment.

RESULTS: PLR and NLR values of the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.001, p<0.001). Furthermore, patients who responded to treatment had significantly higher NLR values than those who did not respond (p=0.010).

CONCLUSION: In this study, NLR and PLR values were found to be significantly high in SSNHL patients. PLR value was investigated for the first time in the literature in SSNHL patients. NLR and PLR values are parameters that aid in the diagnosis of SSNHL. Moreover, SSNHL patients who had higher NLR values responded to the treatment better.