title: Are systemic oral steroids effective for sensorineural hearing loss in bullous myringitis? Considerations from a preliminary study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is common in clinical practice to administer systemic steroids to treat sensorineural hearing loss due to bullous myringitis (BM). Nonetheless, there is currently no definitive evidence that steroid therapy is effective and appropriate for BM.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of systemic steroid therapy for treating BM.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study included 23 patients affected by BM with sensorineural hearing loss (median age, 45.8 years). The subjects were divided into two groups: Group A received only systemic antibiotic treatment and Group B received systemic antibiotics plus systemic steroid treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were no differences between the groups in terms of the sensorineural hearing loss recovery. Both treatments were effective, suggesting that administration of oral steroids in combination with antibiotics did not confer an advantage in terms of sensorineural hearing loss recovery rate in the tested population.
authors.affiliation: Audiology Department, University Hospital of Ferrara. andrea.ciorba@unife.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciorba
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bovo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosignoli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martini
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001299:Audiometry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids