Role of platelet-rich plasma in management of sensorineural hearing loss diseases

Sensorineural deafness is a form of loss of hearing. It happens from damage to the cochlea. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous management derived from a case’s blood and was observed to have pro-nerve regenerative characteristics. Intratympanic injection of PRP improves the cells of the hair of the inner ear, therefore enhancing the hearing. Objective. To show the effectiveness and safety of PRP in the management of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) diseases. Material and methods. 150 patients who had sensorineural hearing loss because of different otological diseases, such as acoustic trauma, presbycusis, idiopathic sudden SNHL, in addition to Meniere’s disease (MD). All cases received 4 times of intratympanic injections of PRP with one-week intervals between them. Results. In our research, 150 cases with SNHL diseases, as acoustic trauma, MD, presbycusis, and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) (68 (46.3%) males and 82 (54.6%) females) with age ranges from 18 to 78 years, received intratympanic injections of PRP. 50 patients with ISSNHL: 39 of them showed hearing improvement, with an average of 28 dB in pure tone audiometry (PTA) and 26% in speech discrimination. In acoustic trauma, 18 patients, 12 of them, showed hearing improvement, averaging 30 dB in PTA and 28% in speech discrimination. In presbycusis, 58 patients, 42 of them, showed an improvement in hearing of an average of 25 dB and 24% in speech discrimination. In Meniere’s disease, 24 patients, 16 of them, showed an improvement in hearing of an average of 15 dB and 5% in speech discrimination. Conclusion. Platelet-rich plasma appears effective and safe for the management of sensorineural hearing loss with no systemic side effects as an oral steroid and at low cost.