Effects of Low Level Laser Irradiation around the Superior Cervical Ganglion Combined with Stellate Ganglion Block as a Therapy for Sudden Hearing Loss

The efficacy of low level laser irradiation around the superior cervical ganglion(SCG)combined with stellate ganglion block(SGB)using 7m l of 1% lidocaine for patients with sudden hearing loss (SHL)was estimated according to the recovery criteria of the official committee of SHL, Japan. The outcome was evaluated according to the following four criteria ; 1)Complete recovery <20dB in all tested frequencies ; 2)Remarkable return to average pure tone score of >30dB ; 3)Effective return to average pure tone score of >10dB ; and 4)Ineffective. The recovery rate was significantly(p<0.01 by Mann―Whitney test)elevated in the SGB + laser irradiation group(n=64), as compared with those of the SGB―alone group(n=62); i.e. 1)=30% and 4)=8% in the SGB + laser irradiation group vs. 1)=11% and 4)=27% in the SGB―alone group. Sympathetic nerve fibers around distal vessels of the proper cochlear artery mainly originate from the SCG, which would regulate blood flow of cochlear arterioles. Therefore, laser irradiation of the SCG combined with SGB was considered to be more effective than SGB alone owing to sympathetic blockade in the wider area.