what are my treatment options?

The gold standard therapy for sudden single-sided deafness are steroids given by mouth.

Several small studies have suggested that delivery of steroids directly to the inner ear (by injecting medication into the middle ear may also be equally effective.

This procedure is called intratympanic (or transtympanic) steroid therapy.

The Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Multicenter Treatment Trial, which began in December, 2004, will compare steroids taken by mouth with a special formulation of steroids injected into the middle ear for the treatment of sudden nerve deafness.

 

 

 

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ABOVE: Intratympanic steroid therapy. Administration of steroids into the middle ear using a relatively painless, 3 minute technique in the office setting. The medication is administered through the eardrum (tympanic membrane) to fill the middle ear. The inner ear then absorbs the steroids through passive diffusion across the round window membrane to the scala tympani, the largest of the three chambers of the inner ear.

I think I have sudden deafness in one ear.

I know I need to be treated as soon as possible with steroids.

Who should I contact?