Intratympanic Drug Delivery for Tinnitus Treatment

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study to evaluate the effectiveness of oral and injection intratympanic methylprednisolone to treat acute tinnitus associated with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Study design:Analytical, prospective and longitudinal study.Setting: Brasilia Institute of Otorhinolaryngology. Subjects and methods:Twenty-three subjects with acute tinnitus and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, 13 treated with oral steroids only (Group 1) and 10 treated with methylprednisolone intratympanic injection as rescue therapy (Group 2), and evaluated by audiometry, otoacoustic emission, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) and visual analog scale (VAS) to assess the degree of tinnitus annoyance, before treatment and after 3 months. Results:The annoyance due to tinnitus resulted in a mean VAS of 7.69 in the beginning of treatment and 5.15 3 months after treatment (Group 1), and 8.30 at the beginning and 6.00 3 months later (Group 2). In THI, average was 64.77 points at the beginning of treatment and 49.92 points 3 months later (Group 1) and 72.20 points at the beginning and 51.60 points after 3 months (Group 2). The results of audiometry and otoacoustic emissions showed significant improvement in both groups with significant differences intragroups before and after, but not between the groups. Conclusion:The results suggest that both oral and injection intratympanic methylprednisolone are effective treatment for acute tinnitus associated with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss in these patients.