Analysis of pure tone and speech recognition rates in flat type and total deafness type patients with unilateral intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Objective To analyze the characteristics of pure tone audiometry and speech recognition rates in flat type and total deafness type patients with unilateral intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).Methods A total of 132 flat type and total deafness type patients with intractable SSNHL who were admitted to the Second People's Hospital of Huai'ai (Huai'an Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University) from January 2016 to January 2022 were selected. All the patients had unilateral hearing loss. Their pure tone audiometry and speech recognition rates were measured. According to the age of onset and degree of hearing loss, they were grouped for statistical analysis.Results There were 105 healthy individuals undergoing hearing examination in the control group and 132 patients in the observation group including 12 mild cases (9.09%), 30 moderate cases (22.73%), 50 severe cases (37.88%), and 40 extremely severe cases (30.30%). The speech recognition rates were statistically different among patients with various degree of hearing loss (P＜0.05). In the observation group, there were 7 teenage patients (5.30%), 32 young patients (24.24%), middle-aged patients (49.24%) and elderly patients (21.21%). There were statistical differences in hearing loss and speech recognition rate among different age groups (P＜0.05). There were no statistical differences in hearing loss and speech recognition rate between different genders (P＞0.05).Conclusions The degree of hearing loss and age significantly affect speech recognition rate, with a negative correlation. As the age increases, hearing loss becomes severe, and the speech recognition rate decreases, especially in elder individuals. Hearing loss in flat type and total deafness type patients with unilateral intractable SSNHL is not related to gender, and most of the patients show moderate hearing loss, especially severe and extremely severe cases. The incidence is the highest in middle-aged patients.