To determine if otolaryngologists and audiologists of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery have noticed an increase in the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

A questionnaire was developed for the purpose of providing a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of perceived association between the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and an increase in the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Of respondents, 63.0 per cent did not notice an increase in sudden sensorineural hearing loss during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. There was a weak positive correlation between patients identified with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and the percentage of coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients reported by each medical care provider (Spearman correlation = 0.20, 95 per cent confidence interval = 0.05–0.33). There was no association between geographical location and perceived increase in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (p = 0.38).

The majority of respondents did not perceive an increase in the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss during the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of geographical region.

Septic emboli are an unusual cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, for which few reports exist in the literature.

This paper presents two cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, initially considered as idiopathic, but which were caused by septic emboli. Hearing loss in these cases was bilateral, sequential and total. The first patient had mild fever one week prior to their presentation with sudden sensorineural hearing loss; the other patient had no additional symptoms at presentation. These patients were later diagnosed with infective endocarditis, at two and seven months following the sudden sensorineural hearing loss respectively, showing that septic emboli had been the cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Septic emboli should be considered as a possible cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in cases of total hearing loss. This form of hearing loss should prompt the otolaryngologist to further investigate for infective endocarditis.

To investigate the efficacy of intratympanic steroid therapy in adults with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and to analyse the factors associated with treatment outcome.

Retrospective study of patients undergoing intratympanic steroid injection for sudden sensorineural hearing loss between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2007 at a teaching hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

Patients who received intratympanic steroid therapy within seven days of disease onset achieved a significantly better response rate (76.1 per cent), compared with the delayed treatment group (50 per cent). The total response rate, after four steroid injections, was 68.9 per cent. Patients with low and mid-frequency hearing loss were more responsive to steroid treatment. Vertigo was a negative prognostic factor for recovery. There were no long-term sequelae of intratympanic steroid treatment.

Intratympanic steroid injection may be a simple and effective treatment for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

To evaluate the correlation between caloric and vestibular evoked myogenic potential test results, initial audiogram data, and early hearing recovery, in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss.

One hundred and four patients with unilateral idiopathic sudden hearing loss underwent complete neurotological evaluation. Results for vestibular evoked myogenic potential and caloric testing were compared with patients' initial and final audiograms.

Overall, abnormal vestibular evoked myogenic potential responses occurred in 28.8 per cent of patients, whereas abnormal caloric test results occurred in 50 per cent. A statistically significant relationship was found between the type of inner ear lesion and the incidence of profound hearing loss. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between the extent of the inner ear lesion and the likelihood of early recovery.

In patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss, the extent of the inner ear lesion tends to correlate with the severity of cochlear damage. Vestibular assessment may be valuable in predicting the final outcome.