한방병원에 입원한 돌발성 난청 환자의 임상적 특성과 추가 청력 회복

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose :
This study aimed to retrospectively investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss （SSNHL） admitted to a Korean medicine hospital and to evaluate post-admission hearing recovery and hematologic inflammatory markers.
Methods :
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 59 patients with SSNHL who were admitted to the Department of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology ＆ Dermatology, Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University, between January 1, 2022, and May 9, 2026. Clinical characteristics, hearing outcomes, and hematologic inflammatory markers were analyzed. Post-admission hearing recovery was evaluated using Siegel’s criteria, and hearing improvement was calculated as the change in pure-tone average （PTA） between admission and discharge. Patients were additionally classified according to the interval from symptom onset to Korean medicine admission （≤14 days vs. 〉14 days）. Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with post-admission hearing recovery and hearing improvement.
Results :
1. The mean age of the patients was 44.92 ± 14.54 years, and the mean interval from symptom onset to Korean medicine admission was 21.41 ± 18.08 days. Approximately half of the patients were admitted while receiving conventional treatment, whereas the remainder were admitted after completing conventional treatment.
2. The mean PTA improved from 56.88 ± 21.66 dB at admission to 45.69 ± 24.26 dB at discharge （p 〈 0.001）. The mean hearing improvement was 10.88 ± 13.82 dB, and the post-admission hearing recovery rate was 44.1% according to Siegel’s criteria. Patients admitted within 14 days of symptom onset showed significantly greater hearing improvement and a higher recovery rate than those admitted after 14 days.
3. A shorter interval from symptom onset to Korean medicine admission was independently associated with greater hearing improvement. In addition, hearing threshold and tinnitus status at admission were associated with post-admission hearing recovery.
4. Hematologic inflammatory markers measured after conventional treatment, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio （NLR）, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio （PLR）, and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio （LMR）, were not significantly associated with post-admission hearing recovery or hearing improvement.
Conclusion :
Patients admitted to a Korean medicine hospital after conventional treatment showed diverse clinical characteristics, including both adjunctive- and salvage-treatment phenotypes. Earlier initiation of additional treatment was associated with greater hearing improvement, and the clinical condition at the initiation of additional treatment may be relevant to subsequent hearing recovery. These findings provide real-world clinical data regarding patients seeking additional treatment after conventional therapy and may help optimize treatment strategies for SSNHL.
Key words: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss; SSNHL; Korean medicine hospital; Clinical characteristics; Hearing recovery; Adjunctive treatment; Salvage treatment; Hematologic inflammatory markers

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 목 차 ⅰ
• 표 목 차 ⅲ
• 그림 목차 ⅴ
• 약어 목록 ⅵ
• Ⅰ. 서 론 01
• Ⅱ. 대상 및 방법 03
• 1. 연구 기간 및 대상 03
• 1） 포함 및 배제 기준 03
• 2. 연구 방법 06
• 1） 청각학적 평가 06
• 2） 평가지표 06
• 3） 혈액검사 09
• 4） 통계 분석 09
• Ⅲ. 결 과 11
• 1. 전체 돌발성 난청 환자군의 임상적 특성 11
• 2. 입원 후 추가 청력 회복 여부에 따른 임상적 특성 비교 15
• 3. 증상 발생 후 한방병원 입원 시점에 따른 임상적 특성 비교 19
• 4. 혈액학적 염증지표 분석 21
• 5. 청력 개선도（PTA improvement） 분석 27
• Ⅳ. 고 찰 31
• Ⅴ. 결 론 39
• 참 고 문 헌 41
• 영 문 초 록 49
• 부 록 52