Intratympanic Triamcinolone or Dexamethasone in Sudden Sensory Neural Hearing Loss: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a condition in which a person experiences a rapid loss of hearing, often in one ear. The cause of SSNHL is not always clear, but it is thought to be related to issues with the inner ear, auditory nerve, or other parts of the hearing pathway. Intratympanic injection is a treatment method for SSNHL in which a medication (corticosteroids) is injected directly into the middle ear space through the tympanic membrane. This randomized clinical trial was conducted in two hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Patients with SSNHL were randomized (using the 4-block method) and included in this study. 0.5 cc of dexamethasone or triamcinolone was injected via a 25-gauge spinal needle into the cone of light of tympanic membrane. This procedure was repeated six times. In the present study, the rate of response to treatment was compared in the two groups of triamcinolone and dexamethasone, which showed that in the group where intratympanic injection of dexamethasone was performed, 70.9% of patients responded to treatment (48.4% had a complete response and 22.5% had a partial response), and in the group receiving intratympanic triamcinolone, 72.5% responded to the treatment and improved, 50% showed a complete response and 22.5% showed a partial response, and no significant difference was found in the statistical analysis of the two groups. Also, the comparison of audiometric parameters (SDS and SRT) did not show any significant difference before and after the treatment based on the treatment group, and the treatment response was found in the same group. No significant differences were noted in terms of outcome. Intratympanic dexamethasone injection was associated with a 70.9% response and triamcinolone injection with a 72.5% response.