Treatment of Sudden Deafness in the United States Americans who develop sudden sensorineural deafness cannot be sure what kind of screening or treatment they will be offered. A questionnaire survey of U.S. physicians and audiologists conducted by two researchers revealed that no uniform guidelines exist for how to examine or treat U.S. patients with sudden onset sensorineural deafness. In any given year, 5 to 20 out of every 100,000 Americans have sudden sensorineural deafness. They can seek help from many practicing physicians. However, how their condition is managed varies greatly depending on the practice background of the respective consulting practitioner, some of whom are general practitioners and others are specialists such as otolaryngologists and otolaryngologists. Audiologists provide a universally uniform examination and treatment. They treat sudden deafness usually with oral steroids and antiviral medications. If there is a possibility that the hearing loss will never be cured, the use of hearing aids becomes the main treatment option. The survey was conducted among 1306 family physicians, internists, general otolaryngologists and otolaryngologists. The results of the study were presented at the 2008 meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Treatment of Sudden Deafness in China Sudden deafness is a sudden, unexplained sensorineural hearing loss, usually within minutes or hours, and rarely can be reduced to its lowest point within 72 hours. Sudden deafness can occur in one ear or in both ears. Some patients wake up and suddenly find themselves in a world without sound, which is a serious blow both physically and psychologically, and it is a disease that can be disabling. In China, there is no specific data on the incidence of sudden deafness because of the lack of epidemiological research data. With the development of domestic economy, the accelerated pace of life, and the increased pressure of work competition; with the increase in the incidence of some underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, and the expansion of the incidence population, clinicians generally find that the incidence of sudden deafness is increasing and tending to be younger, therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct nationwide epidemiological studies to identify risk factors for sudden deafness and intervene, and to advocate deafness In early prevention and treatment. In China, in 1996, the Chinese Medical Association Branch of Otolaryngology formulated the “Guidelines for Diagnostic Basis and Efficacy Analysis of Sudden Deafness”, which did not propose the principles of treatment for sudden deafness, so as in the United States, the treatment is in the state of no standardized treatment. Whenever a patient comes to the hospital with sudden hearing loss and the doctor rules out other diseases through hearing tests and other examinations and confirms that the patient is suffering from sudden deafness, each doctor selects vitamin B drugs, vasodilators, hormones, anticoagulants, antivirals, hyperbaric oxygen and other means in various combinations and multiple protocols for treatment based entirely on his or her clinical experience. The effectiveness of sudden deafness treatment lies in the timing of treatment; the earlier the treatment, the better the results. For patients who miss the best time for treatment, it is difficult to improve their hearing loss significantly in a short period of time and enter a phase of stalemate between the disease and treatment. Especially for patients with the first onset of the disease in one ear, even if the treatment effect is unsatisfactory, neither the doctor nor the patient should give up the treatment. Maximum efforts to treat the affected ear are at the same time protecting the healthy ear on the opposite side, and after a period of active treatment, oral administration of some safe, inexpensive, and side-effect-free vitamin B drugs and herbal medicines with microcirculatory improvement effects become the first choice for continued treatment. Some patients with sudden deafness, especially those with severe hearing loss and vertigo, have poor prognosis, and even after receiving active treatment in time, they still cannot save their hearing, which is the result of medical development limited by human ability to recognize and treat the disease. For patients with severe or profound hearing loss, it is possible to return to the world of sound by wearing hearing aids or undergoing cochlear implant surgery. How can we treat the increasing incidence of sudden deafness in children? How to reconstruct the psychological damage of patients with sudden deafness? It is a new challenge for domestic and foreign clinicians.