Clinical study of sudden deafness treated with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine

Objective: To explore the mechanisms of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine (TCM-WM) in treating sudden deafness.Methods: One hundred and forty-six patients suffered from sudden deafness were divided into two groups, 64 cases in the treated group were treated with TCM-WM therapy and the other 82 cases treated with western medicine alone for control.Results: The total effective rate of the treated group was 92.19%, that of the control group was 75.61%. The difference between the two groups was significant,P < 0.01.Conclusion: The TCM-WM therapy is very effective in treating sudden deafness. Its mechanism might be: (1) Decrease of the blood viscosity and increase of the red blood cell’s tenacity, so that the blood stream could pass through unimpededly. (2) Decrease of the plasma TXA2 level and increase of the PGI2 level, to benefit the blood supply for inner ear. (3) Increase of the activity of SOD and clearing away the free radicals so as to reduce the damage to the inner ear.