Dexamethasone protects the hearing of Meniere's disease patients after triple semicircular canal plugging.

Background: TSCP has shown its efficacy in vertigo control for intractable Meniere's disease. However, hearing impairment remains a problem and hampered the application of the surgery.Aims/objectives: To investigate the effect of dexamethasone on the hearing of Meniere's disease patients after TSCP to determine whether inflammation is involved in this processMaterial and methods: Meniere's disease patients who received TSCP surgeries were treated with or without dexamethasone postoperatively. All patients' hearing function were evaluated during a follow up of 2 years after surgery and compared between the two groups.Results: Hearing worsening and word recognition score loss were milder in the dexamethasone group than in the non-dexamethasone group. The rates of profound hearing worsening and word recognition score loss remained significantly lower in the dexamethasone group than in the non-dexamethasone group even 2 years after surgery.Conclusions: Dexamethasone protects the hearing of Meniere's patients after TSCP. Inflammation may be involved in the mechanism by which TSCP causes hearing impairment in these patients.Significance: This finding suggests that steroids should be used routinely after TSCP for hearing preservation, and operative precedures need to be modified to minimize inflammation in the inner ear.