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Title: Some Hearing Recovers After Explosions: Presented at AAO-HNSF

"Some Hearing Recovers After Explosions: Presented at AAO-HNSF"

By Roberta Friedman Special to DG News SAN DIEGO, CA -- September 25, 2002 -- Sensorineural hearing loss can recover to some extent in the first year after loss due to exposure to an explosion, according to an Israeli study. The findings were presented here Sept. 24th at the 106th annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF). Dr. Ronen Perez, of the department of otolaryngology at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, in Jerusalem, reported that 54 ears were followed for four to six years. Initial audiograms were carried out within four hours of the exposures, with additional measurements carried out during the first year. The mean hearing threshold immediately after the explosion was 22 dB (pure-tone average of speech frequencies, 0.5-2 kHz) and 41 dB (mean of high frequencies, 2-8 kHz). Results in the 54 ears showed that 56% achieved an improvement of more than 10 dB after four to six years, with an average improvement of 12 dB (speech frequencies, p<0.0001) and 10 dB (high frequencies, p<0.03). Patients regained a hearing level of 12 dB in speech frequencies and 10 dB in high frequencies. Most of the improvement was apparent within two months, Dr. Perez said, with about 65 percent of regained hearing achieved at that time. Hearing loss after exposure to the pressure changes following an explosion have been reported in the literature since the 16th century, Dr. Perez said. The damage due to ripped tympanic membranes or even to damaged ossicles can be repaired, he added, but there is no treatment to restore sensorineural loss.

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