The Mechanism And Efficacy Of Intratympanic Steroid Therapy For Sudden Sensorineutral Hearing Loss

Deafness refers to the hearing impairment or hearing loss caused by the acoustic and auditory dysfunction. There are many types of deafness, with mild or severe hearing loss, the course of which can be either long or short. Sudden hearing loss (SHL) refers to the sudden and unexplained sensorineural hearing loss. So far most of scholars agree that the etiological is related to many factors, including virus infection, endolymph fluid and cochlear circulation dysfunction, and have made much clinical research on relevant treatments. Now, in the clinical treatments of sudden deafness, the dominant treatment is to improve circulation and relieve the inner ear inflammatory edema response, and the application of steroid is the key factor affecting the curative effect. In recent years, the role of glucocorticoids in the treatment of sudden deafness attracts more and more attention. It is difficult to obtain effective drug concentration in the inner ear by taking corticosteroids orally. Intratympanic steroid therapy is an alternative way of systemic steroid therapy. It can make the steroid keep away from blood-labyrinth barrier, directly access to the inner ear, both to perilymph and to endolymph. Besides, there is a high concentration in endolymph, which is much more than that of the oral and intravenous drug delivery methods. It seems the high concentration in endolymph is more beneficial for the treatment of inner ear diseases, and there is no obvious damage to the inner ear tissue. In recent years, based on animal experiments, intratympanic steroid therapy is becoming a hot spot of sudden deafness. Some scholars’ studies showed that this method has received a good effect in the treatment of sudden deafness. Although drug type, dose, treatment program and treatment duration of intratympanic steroid therapy are still unknown. It can avoid the risk of systemic steroid and has advantages in the treatment of the patients suffered from sudden hearing loss with hypertension and diabetes. This article reviewed the mechanism and efficiency of intratympanic steroids therapy for SSNHL.