Evaluating Inflammatory Markers in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: The Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio, The Systemic Immune Inflammation Index, and The Pan Immune Inflammation Value as Prognostic Tools

This research sought to explore the association between sudden sensorineural hearing loss and inflammation by analyzing key inflammatory indicators, such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, the systemic immune inflammation index , and the pan-immune-inflammation value .This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary medical center's otolaryngology department between 2016 and 2021, involving sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients diagnosed and treated during the specified period. Two hundred sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients and 200 healthy controls were included. Inflammatory markers were calculated from complete blood count data. Audiological evaluations categorized patients based on hearing loss severity. Patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss demonstrated significantly elevated levels of inflammatory markers compared to the control group: NLR: 3.43 ± 2.99 vs. 2.10 ± 1.28, p < 0.001; SII: 953.72 ± 855.02 vs. 561.74 ± 355.60, p < 0.001; and PIV: 523.84 ± 455.48 vs. 342.48 ± 245.47, p < 0.001. ROC analysis revealed superior diagnostic performance for the systemic immune inflammation index, and the pan-immune-inflammation value, with AUC values of 0.693 and 0.648, respectively, compared to NLR (AUC = 0.692). This study provides novel insights into the relationship between inflammation and sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, the systemic immune inflammation index, and the pan-immune-inflammation value levels in sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients suggest their potential as valuable indicators for understanding the etiology and predicting outcomes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss . The study underscores the need for further research to validate these findings and explore the underlying mechanisms connecting inflammation to sudden sensorineural hearing loss.