Results of intratympanic dexamethasone injection as salvage treatment in idiopathic sudden hearing loss.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of intratympanic (IT) dexamethasone injection as a salvage treatment in idiopathic sudden hearing loss (ISHL) patients.


METHODS
A prospective study.


METHODS
A secondary care hospital.


METHODS
Fifty-two subjects whose pure-tone averages (PTAs) after a 2-week standard treatment were > 30 dB or worse than 10 dB from the contralateral ear were included. Thirty-four patients underwent IT dexamethasone injection and 18 patients (control) received no further treatment. Final hearing outcome was compared between the two groups.


METHODS
At 2 weeks after IT dexamethasone injection, audiograms were obtained and compared between the two groups.


RESULTS
Sixteen patients (47.1%) in the IT dexamethasone group and 8 patients (44.4%) in the control group finally showed an improvement of 10 dB or more in PTA or a 15% or more change in speech discrimination score (p > .05). The average improvement in PTAs was 8.2 dB in the IT dexamethasone group and 3.6 dB in the control group (p = .184). Patients responsive to the initial treatment showed better final outcomes, irrespective of IT dexamethasone injection.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study does not support IT dexamethasone injection as a beneficial salvage treatment for ISHL patients. The true efficacy of this procedure still needs to be investigated.
Lee
Hyun-Seok
HS
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Pundang Jesaeng Hospital, Daejin Medical Center, Sungnam, Korea. dochyun@dmc.or.kr
Kim
Jun Mo
JM
Kim
Young-Jin
YJ
Chung
Duk Hee
DH
Seo
Beom Seok
BS
Kim
Seok Hwa
SH
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003907:Dexamethasone; D008775:Methylprednisolone