The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of intratympanic
dexamethasone injections as a treatment for severe
tinnitus in idiopathic sudden
sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). We studied 37 patients who received intratympanic
dexamethasone injections and 14 control patients who did not receive it, with severe
tinnitus after onset of unilateral sudden SNHL. Hearing level did not change during this study in any patient. The relationship between the duration of
tinnitus and effectiveness of treatment was investigated in sudden SNHL. We used a visual analogue scale to evaluate 51 patients with severe
tinnitus at the stage of stable hearing level after idiopathic sudden
sensorineural hearing loss. Forty-one per cent of patients showed significant improvement
after treatment. The average period between onset of sudden
sensorineural hearing loss and initiation of intratympanic
dexamethasone injection was significantly shorter (207 days) in the improved group than in the unchanged group (482 days) (P<0.001). In control group, one of 14 patients presented significant improvement spontaneously. Intratympanic
dexamethasone treatment may be effective in treatment of severe
tinnitus after sudden SNHL at the stage of stable hearing level, and the shorter the period from onset of
sudden deafness to the start of intratympanic
dexamethasone treatment, the greater the improvement in
tinnitus that can be expected.