Background and Objectives: We aimed to analyze treatment outcomes following different initial management approaches and confirm treatment regimens for acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) that would yield the best results. Subjects and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 106 patients with ALHL who visited a university hospital's otology clinic from March 2013 to June 2019. Pure-tone averages at the initial visit and at 2 and 4 weeks after the initial visit were evaluated. Results: Forty-nine patients were enrolled in this study; of them, 41 (83.7%) exhibited complete recovery (CR) at 2 weeks and 43 (87.8%) exhibited CR at 1 month after the initial visit. Regression analysis revealed that CR at 2 weeks after the initial visit was associated with diuretic use [Exp(B): 10.309, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.007-100]. An initial daily low-dose steroid use was marginally significant [Exp(B): 1.042, 95% CI: 0.997-1.092; p=0.066]. Isolated diuretic use [Exp(B): 25.641, 95% CI: 1.121-90.909; p=0.039] was an independent, good prognostic factor at 1 month after the initial visit. However, other treatment regimens did not affect the final results. Conclusions: A combination of initial daily administration of ≤30 mg prednisolone plus diuretics was sufficient as the first-line treatment for ALHL. High-dose steroids and salvage intratympanic steroid injections can be applied as a second choice; however, the predicted outcome would not be good in that case.

Central skull base osteomyelitis (CSBO) is a rare, fatal condition seen mostly in elderly diabetic or immunocompromised patients; it mainly involves the sphenoid or occipital bones and diagnosis is often delayed. A 72-year-old male with diabetes was referred to our department with severe pain in the maxillary gingiva. Endoscopic biopsy of the pterygoid bone confirmed the presence of mucormycosis combined with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. Sinus surgery was performed with bilateral alveolar bone sequestrectomy. Long-term intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy using meropenem and ampicillin/sulbactam and antifungal therapy using amphotericin B (100 mg/day) was administered; an oral antifungal agent, posaconazole (800 mg/day), was also prescribed for 11 weeks. At the 6-month follow-up visit, there were no complications and no progression of the CSBO lesion was observed. Timely diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment including endoscopic surgery, alveolar bone sequestrectomy, and combined antifungal and antibiotic therapy can reduce mortality and minimize complications associated with CSBO.