Efficacy of daily short-term intratympanic dexamethasone administration as the sole treatment for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

　Although intratympanic steroid therapy for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) has been practiced for the last 10-15 years, its efficacy has not been clarified. We treated ISSNHL patients by daily short-term intratympanic dexamethasone administration (IT-DEX). The purpose of this study was to carry out a retrospective evaluation of the efficacy of IT-DEX. Ninety-six ISSNHL patients who were treated with IT-DEX were enrolled in this study. Dexamethasone was injected through a perforation made with a CO₂ laser unit and administered for 8 sequential days, without any other concurrent treatment. Only 38 out of the 96 patients (39.6%) showed complete recovery. However, of the 27 out of the 96 patients who had received no previous treatment, i.e., were treated with only IT-DEX initially, 20 (74.1%) showed complete recovery. Initial IT-DEX represents effective treatment for ISSNHL, however, only 27 out of the 96 patients (28.1%) had received no previous treatment, therefore, a multicenter trial may be necessary to more definitively examine the effectiveness of IT-DEX as the initial and sole treatment for ISSNHL.