Intratympanic Steroid Injections

Steroid injections into the ear are used to treat:

• Sudden sensorineural hearing loss
• Ménière’s disease
• Rapidly fluctuating hearing loss

⚠️ Time is critical: For sudden hearing loss, treatment is most effective when started as soon as possible—ideally within the first 2–4 weeks.

Why We Do Them

• When oral steroids haven’t worked: Ear injections can deliver a much higher concentration of medication directly to the inner ear.
• When patients can’t take oral steroids: Some people can’t tolerate steroid pills because of medical conditions such as diabetes, stomach ulcers, or psychiatric concerns (e.g., bipolar disorder).
• When patients dislike steroid side effects: Oral steroids can cause jitteriness, mood changes, or insomnia. Injections avoid many of these whole-body side effects.

What to Expect

1. You’ll sit reclined in a chair—no sedation or general anesthesia is needed.
2. The eardrum is numbed to minimize discomfort.
3. A small amount of steroid is gently injected through the eardrum.
4. You’ll rest with your head turned for about 15 minutes to help the medicine absorb.
5. A second injection is often given, followed by another 15-minute rest.
6. You can then go home—most people are able to drive themselves.

For future treatments, the needle passes through the same tiny opening in the eardrum.

Treatment Course

• Injections are often repeated twice per week for 2 weeks, depending on response.
• Improvement may take several days to weeks or even months. Some patients notice benefit after the first injection, while others may need several.
• Follow-up visits and hearing tests help monitor progress.

Aftercare

• Keep water out of the treated ear for about one month.
• No restrictions on daily activities; you may drive home.

Benefits

• High dose delivered directly to the inner ear.
• Fewer whole-body side effects compared to oral steroids.
• Option when oral steroids fail or are not safe.

Possible Side Effects

• Temporary dizziness: uncommon, usually lasts only a few minutes during injection.
• Ear fullness or crackling: may occur while the eardrum heals.
• Taste disturbance: very rare, temporary, from irritation of a nearby nerve.
• Eardrum healing: the needle hole almost always closes on its own. About 1 in 200 injections may leave a small perforation, which can be repaired with a simple procedure.
• Infection or damage to other ear structures: extremely rare.

✅ In summary: Intratympanic steroid injections are a safe, well-tolerated treatment that deliver medicine directly to the inner ear, often when time is critical and when oral steroids aren’t an option.