Internationally, corticosteroids are still the mainstay treatment for patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL).

This is a retrospective monocentric study investing the impact of adding N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to prednisolone treatment on patients with ISSHL at a tertiary university otorhinolaryngology department.

793 patients (median age 60 years; 50.9% women) with a new diagnosis of ISSHL from 2009 to 2015 were included in the study.

663 patients received NAC administration in addition to standard tapered prednisolone treatment.

Univariate and multivariable analysis were performed to identify independent factors regarding negative prognosis of hearing recovery.