The STARFISH team have recently published an educational article on the management of acute hearing loss in the community, read it here!
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is an uncommon condition that many clinicians working outside ENT or audiology will infrequently encounter. However it is crucial that patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss are identified as early as possible, and urgently referred to an ENT team for assessment and treatment. Early treatment with steroid is thought to improve the chances of hearing recovery.
If your patient is enrolled in the STARFISH trial, they may be asked to perform at home hearing screening tests, which are available here.
If you suspect a patient has sudden hearing loss they should be urgently referred to their local ENT on-call team. We advise not starting oral steroids before a patient is assessed by ENT. Once a sensorineural hearing loss has been confirmed the patient may be invited to the STARFISH trial if they are seen at a participating site.
If you are apart of a team already delivering the STARFISH trial, key documents and other material can be found HERE.