{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:02:24Z","timestamp":1789516944782,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Georg Thieme Verlag KG","issue":"03","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":76,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To assess how general practitioners (GPs) in the United Kingdom recognise, investigate, and manage sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), and to determine the extent to which their practice aligns with national guidance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>A cross-sectional online survey was distributed between January and July 2025 to fully qualified GPs across the West Midlands. The questionnaire explored definitions used, diagnostic methods, management strategies, and familiarity with NICE and ENT UK recommendations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Fifty GPs completed the survey. Although 84% attempted to distinguish conductive from sensorineural loss, only 56% regularly used tuning-fork tests. Urgent ENT referral was the most common initial step (68%), while only 18% initiated pharmacological therapy and 36% prescribed corticosteroids. Fewer than half were familiar with guideline content, yet 96% expressed a wish for additional training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>SSNHL remains inconsistently recognized and managed in UK primary care. Improving GP confidence through targeted ENT education and streamlined referral pathways could substantially enhance early treatment and hearing outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2804-6442","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T23:11:32Z","timestamp":1789513892000},"page":"001-004","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Management of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss among General Practitioners in the United Kingdom: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study"],"prefix":"10.1055","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7868-2984","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Umar","family":"Farooq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Priya Sunil","family":"Patel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gursahib Singh","family":"Bal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Faisal","family":"Javed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"194","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"S1","article-title":"Clinical practice guideline: sudden hearing loss (update)","volume":"161","author":"S S Chandrasekhar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Hearing loss in adults: assessment and management (NG98)","author":"NICE","year":"2023"},{"issue":"04","key":"ref3","first-page":"301","article-title":"Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: epidemiology and outcomes","volume":"134","author":"B E Schreiber","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Laryngol Otol"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Management of suspected unilateral idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss in adults","author":"ENT UK","year":"2024"},{"issue":"02","key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1097\/00129492-200503000-00004","article-title":"Pathology and pathophysiology of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss","volume":"26","author":"S N Merchant","year":"2025","journal-title":"Otol Neurotol"},{"issue":"08","key":"ref6","first-page":"688","article-title":"Autoimmune inner-ear disease and SSNHL","volume":"135","author":"D Lobo","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Laryngol Otol"},{"issue":"02","key":"ref7","first-page":"245","article-title":"Incidence and recovery in SSNHL","volume":"42","author":"T H Alexander","year":"2021","journal-title":"Otol Neurotol"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Quality Standard QS185: Sudden onset of hearing loss","author":"NICE","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"Sudden hearing loss management protocols for primary care","author":"ENT UK","year":"2024"},{"issue":"716","key":"ref10","first-page":"e321","article-title":"Primary-care adherence to SSNHL guidelines","volume":"72","author":"A Smith","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br J Gen Pract"},{"issue":"03","key":"ref11","first-page":"e054321","article-title":"Delays in SSNHL diagnosis and treatment in UK practice","volume":"14","author":"P Patel","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref12","volume-title":"Hearing-loss referral performance 2023","author":"ENT UK National Audit","year":"2023"},{"issue":"9721","key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1203","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(09)62071-7","article-title":"Sudden sensorineural hearing loss","volume":"375","author":"B E Schreiber","year":"2010","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"issue":"08","key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"833","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMcp0802129","article-title":"Clinical practice. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss","volume":"359","author":"S D Rauch","year":"2008","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"issue":"10","key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"896","DOI":"10.1001\/jamaoto.2024.2598","article-title":"A Prognostic Model to Predict Hearing Recovery in Patients With Idiopathic Sudden Onset Sensorineural Hearing Loss","volume":"150","author":"R Mandavia","year":"2024","journal-title":"JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S1","DOI":"10.1002\/lary.24875","article-title":"Otolaryngology\u2013head and neck surgery in undergraduate medical education: advances and innovations","volume":"125","author":"K Fung","year":"2015","journal-title":"Laryngoscope"},{"issue":"09","key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1386","DOI":"10.1177\/1357633X231156207","article-title":"Diagnostic accuracy and management concordance of otorhinolaryngological diseases through telehealth or remote visits: A systematic review & meta\u2013analysis","volume":"30","author":"S R Shah","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Telemed Telecare"},{"issue":"06","key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"582","DOI":"10.1001\/archotol.133.6.582","article-title":"Treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss: II. A Meta\u2013analysis","volume":"133","author":"A E Conlin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"issue":"05","key":"ref19","first-page":"386","article-title":"Diagnostic accuracy of tuning\u2013fork tests in hearing loss","volume":"60","author":"S Mahmoudian","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Audiol"},{"issue":"01","key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.1186\/s40463-021-00498-x","article-title":"Management of sudden sensorineural hearing loss among primary care physicians in Canada: a survey study","volume":"50","author":"B Ng","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"issue":"03","key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e55849","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.55849","article-title":"Approach to sudden hearing loss among primary care physicians in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia","volume":"16","author":"N F Aldajani","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S1","DOI":"10.1177\/0194599812436449","article-title":"Clinical practice guideline: sudden hearing loss","volume":"146","author":"R J Stachler","year":"2012","journal-title":"Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"issue":"05","key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2303","DOI":"10.1007\/s00405-021-06923-1","article-title":"The use of melatonin for auditory brainstem response audiometry in children with comorbidities","volume":"279","author":"C Struijk","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol"},{"issue":"10","key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"CD004739","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD004739.","article-title":"Hyperbaric oxygen for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus","volume":"10","author":"M H Bennett","year":"2012","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"issue":"22","key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7126","DOI":"10.3390\/s24227126","article-title":"Artificial intelligence in audiology: a scoping review of current applications and future directions","volume":"24","author":"A Frosolini","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sensors (Basel)"}],"container-title":["International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.thieme-connect.de\/products\/ejournals\/pdf\/10.1055\/a-2804-6442.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T23:11:34Z","timestamp":1789513894000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.thieme-connect.de\/DOI\/DOI?10.1055\/a-2804-6442"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"03","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["a28046442"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1055\/a-2804-6442","archive":["Portico","CLOCKSS"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1809-9777","1809-4864"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1809-9777","type":"print"},{"value":"1809-4864","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}}}