Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2024; 28(04): e650-e656
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1788779
Original Research

Results of a New Treatment Protocol for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Using Betamethasone for Intratympanic Therapy

Authors

  • Paula Tardim Lopes

    1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Jessica Almeida

    2   Department of Otology, Fundação Otorrinolaringologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

  • Ricardo Ferreira Bento 

    1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Funding The authors declare that they have not received funding from agencies in the public, private or non-profit sectors to conduct the present study.
Further Information
Also available at
  Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Introduction Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is defined as a rapid sensation of hearing impairment in one or both ears. Based on its personal impact on patients, the present study advances the analysis of new treatments for the prompt recognition and management of SSNHL, with higher chances of improvements in terms of hearing recovery and quality of life of the patients.

Objective To describe the intratympanic (IT) corticoid infiltration technique, to demonstrate the efficacy of betamethasone injection as a sequential treatment in patients whose initial systemic steroid treatment failed, as well as to compare its use in different treatment periods.

Methods The present clinical trial was conducted with 37 patients referred to our office with the diagnosis of SSNHL, from September 2019 to May 2022, who provided informed consent to participate.

Results Even dividing the analysis of increasing the pure tone average (PTA) or speech recognition threshold (SRT) between the difference into initiation of the salvage therapy in up to 15 days of the sudden deafness event, and between 15 days and 3 months of the event, we did not find any difference in hearing improvement.

Conclusion Intratympanic corticosteroid therapy is prescribed when conventional therapy fails or when there is a limitation to the use of corticosteroids due to the presence of systemic disorders. As such, new drugs, such as bethametasone, are studied and show promising results.

Keywords

hearing loss - sensorineural hearing loss - sudden - salvage therapy steroids - betamethasone


Publication History

Received: 16 July 2023

Accepted: 07 June 2024

Article published online:
25 October 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil