Effect of Dexamethasone Combination With Gentamicin in Chemical Labyrinthectomy on Hearing Preservation in Patients With Meniere’s Disease

Abstract

Chemical labyrinthectomy may be performed in patients with Meniere’s disease who have intractable vertigo that does not respond to drug. By using aminoglycosides, the surgical procedure ablates vestibular type 1 hair cells. However, the risk of hearing loss remains a main concern for clinicians because gentamicin ablates cochlear hair cells as well as vestibular hair cells. To deal with the concern for hearing loss, dexamethasone can be combined with gentamicin during chemical labyrinthectomy. Herein, we show that chemical labyrinthectomy using gentamicin combined with dexamethasone preserve hearing at high-frequency compared to the conventional method.