Oral Statins and Protection From Hearing Loss

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient older than 18 years and younger than 81 years and

• Diagnosed with one sided idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss by physicalexamination, history, audiology, speech interpretation tests and tinnitus evaluationand

• Seen in the clinic within the first 14 days after the onset of symptoms. and

• Mean hearing threshold equal to or worse than >30 dB averaged across threeconsecutive frequencies.

• Excellent English Speaking and Comprehension

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children

• Prisoners

• Pregnant women

• Patients who have experienced similar prior events of SSNHL

• Patients with bacterial infections, mycoplasma, Lyme disease, tuberculosis,syphilis, fungal infections,

• Autoimmune inner ear disease

• Middle ear inflammation or effusion

• Ototoxic medication such as chemotherapy, loop diuretics, high dose aspirin, etc.

• Head Trauma, lead poisoning

• Genetic disorders affecting hearing

• Mitochondrial disorders, including MELAS (metabolic encephalopathy, lactic acidosis,and stroke-like episodes), stroke, Cogan's syndrome

• Neoplastic (neurofibromatosis II, bilateral vestibular schwannomas, carcinomatousmeningitis, intravascular lymphomatosis, others)

• Sarcoidosis

• Hyperviscosity syndrome

• Diabetes

• Use of statins within the last 12 months

• Allergy, hypersensitivity or intolerance to any components of the study medication

• Prior tinnitus

• Prior otologic surgery other than ventilation tubes

• History of drug abuse or alcoholism within the prior 2 years

• Any psychiatric syndrome requiring treatment with neuroleptics, antidepressants,hypnotics or anxiolytics

• Severe systemic neurologic disease (epilepsy, Parkinson's, dementia/Alzheimers,multiple sclerosis

• Oral steroid treatment within the preceding 30 days

• Heart disease or TIAs

• Chronic kidney failure

• HIV, Hepatitis B or C

• Active shingles

• Skull, facial or temporal bone anomalies