Chinese medicine boosts hearing recovery after sudden deafness

By Liam Davenport, medwireNews Reporter

Intravenous administration of a natural antioxidant used in Chinese medicine significantly improves the recovery of hearing after sudden deafness (SD) compared with standard therapy, the results of a Chinese study indicate.

"The results of this study demonstrated RA [Radix Astragali] is useful for sudden deafness, and the possible mechanism may be its antioxidant property," say Min Xiong, from Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, and colleagues.

Adding that the therapy has been employed for the management of SD in their department since 2005, the researchers note: "RA has been widely used in China for thousands of years, and no harmful side effects have been reported."

The team treated a total of 92 patients with sudden onset of sensorineural hearing loss with intravenous dexamethasone at 0.2 mg/kg/day and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for 10 days.

In addition, 46 of the patients received intravenous RA at 0.5 ml/kg/day during the 10-day treatment period. Each 10 ml injection of RA contained 20 g of crude medication astragalus membranaceus.

The researchers report in the American Journal of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery that the average hearing gain in terms of pure tone average was significantly greater in the RA group than in patients who did not receive RA, at 36.2 versus 21.1 dB.

Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the hearing gain at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz compared with baseline was significantly greater in patients treated with RA than those who did not receive the treatment, at 46.2 versus 30.7 dB, 35.4 versus 20.1 dB, 35.6 versus 21.9 dB, 32.5 versus 18.4 dB, and 30.1 versus 17.8 dB, respectively.

"The recovery of hearing was significantly better after treatment of RA than non-treatment of RA," the researchers report. "RA can be valuable concurrent therapy for patients with SD."

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