Effects of intratympanic dexamethasone on noise-induced hearing loss: An experimental study

Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of intratympanic steroid treatment on hearing based on oto-acoustic emission.

A total of 16 healthy female Wistar albino rats weighing were used in this study. They were divided in to 2 groups and each group was exposed to noise at 110dB for 25min to induce acoustic trauma. Intratympanic dexamethasone was administered to the middle ears of animals in the experimental group on the same day as exposure to noise. The control group was given 0.09% saline solution. Distortion product otoacoustic emission measurements were performed on days 7 and 10.

There were no differences between the emission results of two groups before treatment at 4004, 4761, 5652, 6726, and 7996Hz. There were significant group differences on measurement days 7 and 10 at all frequencies.

Our study revealed a significant difference in DPOAE measurements on days 7 and 10 between the experimental and control groups. We detected a positive effect of dexamethasone on noise-induced hearing loss.