Efficacy of low-dose intratympanic dexamethasone for sudden hearing loss

Intratympanic steroids (ITSs) are recommended for treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). On the other hand, the dosage, frequency and duration of the intratympanic therapy are still not clear. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose intratympanic steroid (ITS) treatment of SSNHL.

Seventy patients (ears) treated for SSNHL were involved in the study. The patients were divided into four groups: the systemic steroid, combined, intratympanic initial (ITSi) and intratympanic salvage (ITSs). The demographic data, accompanying symptoms, treatment onset duration, the treatment protocol, and pre- and post-treatment pure tone audiometry results were recorded.

The mean treatment onset was 60 days in the ITSs group, which is statistically later than the other groups (p<0.001). The treatment response was assessed based on Siegel's criteria. Hearing recovery was statistically higher in the combined group than the systemic steroid group (p=0.042). 87.5% of the ITSi group showed full recovery, which is a statistically significantly higher difference than the other groups (p<0.001). In the salvage treatment group, the use of low-dose ITS was observed to be inadequate for the treatment (p<0.001). The post-treatment pure tone average gains in dB were analyzed at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000Hz and the recovery determined for each of the four groups was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001 to p<0.031).

The ITS administration as the initial treatment for mild to moderate hearing loss is adequate while low dose of dexamethasone used as a salvage treatment is inadequate. The use of low-dose ITS in the combined treatment may increase the hearing gain.