Acta Otolaryngol. 2007 Aug 22;:1-6 [Epub ahead of print] Links
Vitamin E and vitamin C in the treatment of idiopathic sudden
sensorineural hearing loss.Hatano M, Uramoto N, Okabe Y, Furukawa M,
Ito M.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kouseiren Takaoka
Hospital, Takaoka, Japan.

Conclusion. The results of this study suggest that the administration
of vitamin E and vitamin C to patients with idiopathic sudden
sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) has beneficial effects by reducing
the level of reactive oxygen metabolites produced by inner ear
ischaemia and reperfusion injury after treatment. Objectives. The
purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of antioxidant
vitamin E and vitamin C in the treatment of ISSHL. Patients and
methods. In a retrospective chart review, a total of 87 patients were
enrolled who fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: 1) sudden
onset of sensorineural hearing loss, 2) cause of hearing loss unknown,
3) hearing loss did not fluctuate, 4) arithmetic mean of hearing
levels at 250, 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz exceeded 40 dB and 5)
treatment was started within 14 days from the onset of hearing loss.
All the patients were treated with steroids and/or alprostadil. In the
study group, patients additionally received vitamin E (tocopherol
nicotinate, 600 mg/day) and vitamin C (1200 mg/day) orally. Results.
The hearing gain after therapy was 29.4 dB and the improvement rate
was 63.3% in the study group, compared with 18.5 dB and 44.0% in the
control group. Significant improvement was seen in the hearing gain
and recovery rate in the study group.

PMID: 17851951 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]