5. Conclusion
The hearing threshold of 1 kHz of the better ear was only one
audiometric factor in AHL that affect the outcomes of hearing-aid use.
Among the non-audiometric factors, the etiology of sudden hearing loss
was statistically significant in AHL, especially UHL. This result is
assumed to be related to the duration of hearing loss, patient’s
motivation, and the clinician’s active role. Therefore, fitting a
hearing aid early and strongly recommending one seem to be important for
patients with sudden hearing loss who do not recover after medical
treatment. Age was another non-audiometric factor that had statistically
significant effects on the outcome for patients with AHL2 (a
discriminating power of 53.6%). Due to the limited predictive factors
that can be used to plan a fitting strategy for AHL, clinicians should
keep in mind that sudden hearing loss and younger patients with AHL
should be encouraged to accept at least monaural amplification.