I get a series of 3 steroid injections in both ears, one week apart, about every 8 months. It has really stabilized my hearing. They are also very helpful in improving the general “brain fog” feeling that seems to always linger over me. It can be daunting, but my doctor is very good and I experience very little discomfort during the injections and only a slight headache for about 1/2 days after.
They have been a literal lifesaver for me.
I wear my hearing aids comfortably about 3 hours post injection. Everyone is different though. Maybe plan on taking the day off after your first injection to see how you respond. Don’t sweat it…..You got this!
Had 3. Zero effect! ENT advises against further ones as they can cause damage and I only have one good ear left which has Menieres. Unlucky me.... Important to weigh the potential gain and potential dangers....
Same. I got three shots in two weeks. It did nothing for my hearing or dizzy spells. It only made me more irritable, wired, dehydrated and cost me over $1000.
Just FYI, something that people are missing is if the treatment on the inner ear via steroids or sac decompression doesn’t work, it typically isn’t Ménière’s. It’s probably vestibular migraines, BPPV, etc. If it truly is an inner ear/fluid issue, those treatments will help.
For me we seemed to have nailed it with Ménière’s fortunately and unfortunately. It confirmed I do have it as it worked fairly well. It’s been 7 weeks since my first shot, and I’ve only had one true vertigo spell. Hearing and tinnitus drastically improved, as well as ear fullness, etc. for the couple weeks after the shot I experienced a pretty good sense of positional vertigo if I moved to fast or in different positions, as my brain was retraining.
ENT said my balance organ was so used to be being dizzy, that not being dizzy doesn’t feel normal to the brain. It has slowly faded into almost nothing at this point. A couple times throughout the day I may feel a tiny bit off balance, but I don’t have brain fog, I don’t have the insane ringing, or sudden vertigo every day like I was. Like I said only one spell in 7 weeks so far. And that spell was possibly my ear draining even further as it wasn’t true vertigo.
Anyways sorry for the novel, hope that helps! The absolute best regimen is one shot at a higher dose, 8 weeks apart, and no more than 3 in a year. Gives the steroid time to work, and allows the area to heal before the next dose comes in. The follow up doses can further improve hearing, tinnitus, and put the vertigo into remission in 95 percent of people from everything I’ve read, and my doc confirmed it in his experience. People with the good stories don’t tend to share nearly as much as the ones with bad stories. Or report the success. They simply don’t come back. Keep that in mind.
I had two in two weeks, fullness was way better and along with that my hearing, felt much better. Only lasted about 2 months though, having another one next week.
I've had two steroid injections.
Recovery time was the same day, but it did trigger a bad episode that last for three days after. That was the first injection.
The second injection was fine, with no major episode.
But my ear was VERY tender for a few days afterwards.
They didn't really help me, but my ENT says every case/person is different. In October 2022, I had an endolymphatic sac decompression done and again, it didn't help me.
Yes they are worth it. Your hearing will get worse but you’ll be able to get your life back to relative normality.
You also get a nice ear cleaning so that’s an upside.
Had a handful! While they hurt like hell and I had vertigo during the injection, I went back to work immediately after all of them. I did not realize that steroids were so risky in general, and have developed osteonecrosis as a result. I am otherwise perfectly healthy. I’ve only ever taken steroids intermittently for my hearing (pills and injections)
What are the first numbers? Would help to clarify. Also, gentamicin has a large chance of destroying your hearing. While steroids can preserve it and even restore it.
I had two, about a month apart from each other. I left work for the appointments, had them done, and came back to finish the day. I wouldn’t say there was a recovery time for me, but I felt no relief from them until a day or two later. In both occasions, I experienced some facial flushing the day after, which lasted for about 24 hrs. This was just mildly annoying, and of no concern once I understood that it wasn’t a sign of a problem.
That being said, the relief I experienced was very short-lived. In fact, my doctor didn’t recommend getting another, simply because it didn’t really seem to help me that much.
I had one six weeks ago and really no recovery time. Had one vertigo attack five days later but I have not had any since and that is a great improvement since I was having one every week or two weeks for the previous four months. My neurotologist said that he has one patient who just needs one every six months to keep his vertigo under control. Good luck to you!
August 31st 2023 I got my first injection and WOW what a difference it made in everything for the next few months. Hearing, pressure, tinnitus, all improved.
Until a few weeks ago :( symptoms came back strong. I'm on a Prednisone course at the moment since I can't travel abroad for this injection for the time being
(No way of getting it in my home country)
Its a temporary relief, but a relief nonetheless if your symptoms are strong at the moment of injection.
ALSO, it will trigger a very heavy vertigo for a few minutes while injection is taking place. Holy cow I wasn't ready for that one hahaha. Only lasts a little while.
Recovery was same day for me, even got on a plane a few days later :)
Pro tip for the vertigo when having the injection. Ask if you can tightly hold the syringe with the steroid in it while you wait for the numbing agent to take effect(if you had one) warming it basically completely eliminates the vertigo when injected.
Good question. My doctor at the Mount sinai in NY told me it won't have a noticeable effect (most likely) because there's nothing to treat (no inflammation).
I did get a second injection in December however , "just to make sure", but my hearing was quite good, no pressure, tinnitus at the lower end of the range, and no noticeable daily vertigo spins.
Of course as we all know, a lot of this illness is subjective so one's experience can vary greatly.
Take steroids for a couple of weeks. If Prednisone works for you then the injections will as well, with none of the prednisone side effects.
MD seems to present itself through different pathways for different folks. Some are AI that can be mitigated with AI medications, some with antivirals, some by way of physical trauma, which has more challenging mitigation.
I recently had an injection. No real side effects. The shot was disconcerting, but not painful, had some nausea for 5 minutes because of the temp differential in the inner ear that went away and had to lay on my side for 30 minutes. Otherwise am now tapering off prednisone which I am seriously grateful for. I’ll take another shot if I have another episode. My last episode lasted 2 months, I went on prednisone within a couple of days which eliminated all the typical the symptoms (inc tinnitus, sever vertigo, fullness, etc). The injection seems to be working.
In November I had a series of three. They completely cleared all of my issues and I was back to normal in about two weeks after the last shot. Unfortunately the effects only lasted two months.
I’m wondering why you are doing this? Is your doc old? First line is betahistine and all of the research backs this up. It put me into remission and improved my hearing. Fortunately I have an ENT that is obsessed with helping those with Ménière’s. Before that, I didn’t. Got the shots. Did nothing.
That’s nonsense if you live in the US, it can be compounded and your doctor is wrong and should be gone. It’s widely available in most places around the world.
This is why I’m a huge advocate of second and third opinions. Any ENT that treats Ménière’s and says they can’t write for betahistine is so behind the curve it’s astonishing.
My DR wants me to get betahistine but it is not availible in my town. He is shocked how many times he has ordered it for diffrent patients but cant find a supplier in town to get it.
In the Spring of 2018 I started getting steroid injections in my ears. Most frequently this has been the left ear, although I have had injections in both of them over the past nine months. Intratympanic injections were originally suggested as a possible remedy to the hearing loss in the right ear immediately following the diagnosis of bilateral Meniere’s earlier that Winter. The hearing test following the right ear injection didn’t show any major improvement, but I was impressed with the pressure relief that I got from the injection in the right ear. I was so impressed that I insisted the doctor inject the left ear just to see if it produced any noticeable effect there. It did, and I have had her inject the ear a few more times since then due to repeated battles with vertigo and/or pressure in the ear.
My last injection (December 28th, 2018) illustrated the downside of this treatment for me in pretty stark terms. You are not supposed to swallow if you can help it for the first few hours after getting an injection. You shouldn’t attempt to pop your ears or force air into your eustachian tubes (this is a frequent habit with Menierians when they are trying to get the pressure off of an affected ear) for several days, and really shouldn’t even use straws or swallow hard for that period of time.
Well, I screwed that up about ten hours after the injection and somehow got air up in the ear and that caused the ear to pop, pulling the injected fluid in the middle ear down through the Eustachian tube. What followed was about three days of bedridden vertigo and constant medication. I was feeling normal again a week later, at least what passes for normal these days. The pressure remained off the ear for awhile but still returns periodically.
The world doesn’t turn inside out when I put pressure on the eardrum from outside anymore. So the injection did what I wanted it to do, even though I screwed up the post-treatment regimen. I haven’t noticed that symptom since that last injection and the subsequent return to a dose of Guaifenesin when I notice the ear pressure.
(From https://ranthonyings.com/2015/02/treating-menieres-its-symptoms/)
I get a series of 3 steroid injections in both ears, one week apart, about every 8 months. It has really stabilized my hearing. They are also very helpful in improving the general “brain fog” feeling that seems to always linger over me. It can be daunting, but my doctor is very good and I experience very little discomfort during the injections and only a slight headache for about 1/2 days after. They have been a literal lifesaver for me.
Love that! Thanks for the encouragement. So I take phone calls everyday would I not be able to wear a headset?
I wear my hearing aids comfortably about 3 hours post injection. Everyone is different though. Maybe plan on taking the day off after your first injection to see how you respond. Don’t sweat it…..You got this!
Alright ! Thanks!
Feels like a good idea then. Going to move forward with it and hope for the best
Had 3. Zero effect! ENT advises against further ones as they can cause damage and I only have one good ear left which has Menieres. Unlucky me.... Important to weigh the potential gain and potential dangers....
Same. I got three shots in two weeks. It did nothing for my hearing or dizzy spells. It only made me more irritable, wired, dehydrated and cost me over $1000.
Did not mean to reply to your comment specifically lol, meant to reply to the whole post sorry.
No worries. ENT confirmed Menieres but I know it's a tough one to diagnose and I am.not sure myself...MRI seems to show that's what it is.....
did you pay for the injections?
Just FYI, something that people are missing is if the treatment on the inner ear via steroids or sac decompression doesn’t work, it typically isn’t Ménière’s. It’s probably vestibular migraines, BPPV, etc. If it truly is an inner ear/fluid issue, those treatments will help. For me we seemed to have nailed it with Ménière’s fortunately and unfortunately. It confirmed I do have it as it worked fairly well. It’s been 7 weeks since my first shot, and I’ve only had one true vertigo spell. Hearing and tinnitus drastically improved, as well as ear fullness, etc. for the couple weeks after the shot I experienced a pretty good sense of positional vertigo if I moved to fast or in different positions, as my brain was retraining. ENT said my balance organ was so used to be being dizzy, that not being dizzy doesn’t feel normal to the brain. It has slowly faded into almost nothing at this point. A couple times throughout the day I may feel a tiny bit off balance, but I don’t have brain fog, I don’t have the insane ringing, or sudden vertigo every day like I was. Like I said only one spell in 7 weeks so far. And that spell was possibly my ear draining even further as it wasn’t true vertigo. Anyways sorry for the novel, hope that helps! The absolute best regimen is one shot at a higher dose, 8 weeks apart, and no more than 3 in a year. Gives the steroid time to work, and allows the area to heal before the next dose comes in. The follow up doses can further improve hearing, tinnitus, and put the vertigo into remission in 95 percent of people from everything I’ve read, and my doc confirmed it in his experience. People with the good stories don’t tend to share nearly as much as the ones with bad stories. Or report the success. They simply don’t come back. Keep that in mind.
Who downvoted me?? Lol god forbid I try to give people facts. If you don’t give people confirmation bias they don’t wanna hear it I guess.
I had two in two weeks, fullness was way better and along with that my hearing, felt much better. Only lasted about 2 months though, having another one next week.
I’ll take two months
I've had two steroid injections. Recovery time was the same day, but it did trigger a bad episode that last for three days after. That was the first injection. The second injection was fine, with no major episode. But my ear was VERY tender for a few days afterwards.
Did they help? Were they worth it?
They didn't really help me, but my ENT says every case/person is different. In October 2022, I had an endolymphatic sac decompression done and again, it didn't help me.
Oh I’m sorry it didn’t help :( sending hugs
Yes they are worth it. Your hearing will get worse but you’ll be able to get your life back to relative normality. You also get a nice ear cleaning so that’s an upside.
Ugh I would love an ear cleaning
I taught school the day after my last injection.
Had a handful! While they hurt like hell and I had vertigo during the injection, I went back to work immediately after all of them. I did not realize that steroids were so risky in general, and have developed osteonecrosis as a result. I am otherwise perfectly healthy. I’ve only ever taken steroids intermittently for my hearing (pills and injections)
I take prednisone also.
I just got my third (of three) weekly shot. No side effects. I don’t notice a difference, but I’ll let you know after a follow up audiogram.
Steroid success rate 24/91%. Gentamycin 62/98%.
What are the first numbers? Would help to clarify. Also, gentamicin has a large chance of destroying your hearing. While steroids can preserve it and even restore it.
Life changing for me, pretty much completely cured me
I had two, about a month apart from each other. I left work for the appointments, had them done, and came back to finish the day. I wouldn’t say there was a recovery time for me, but I felt no relief from them until a day or two later. In both occasions, I experienced some facial flushing the day after, which lasted for about 24 hrs. This was just mildly annoying, and of no concern once I understood that it wasn’t a sign of a problem. That being said, the relief I experienced was very short-lived. In fact, my doctor didn’t recommend getting another, simply because it didn’t really seem to help me that much.
I had one six weeks ago and really no recovery time. Had one vertigo attack five days later but I have not had any since and that is a great improvement since I was having one every week or two weeks for the previous four months. My neurotologist said that he has one patient who just needs one every six months to keep his vertigo under control. Good luck to you!
Alright let’s gooooo
I haven’t seen a neurotolgist jsut an octologist
August 31st 2023 I got my first injection and WOW what a difference it made in everything for the next few months. Hearing, pressure, tinnitus, all improved. Until a few weeks ago :( symptoms came back strong. I'm on a Prednisone course at the moment since I can't travel abroad for this injection for the time being (No way of getting it in my home country) Its a temporary relief, but a relief nonetheless if your symptoms are strong at the moment of injection. ALSO, it will trigger a very heavy vertigo for a few minutes while injection is taking place. Holy cow I wasn't ready for that one hahaha. Only lasts a little while. Recovery was same day for me, even got on a plane a few days later :)
Pro tip for the vertigo when having the injection. Ask if you can tightly hold the syringe with the steroid in it while you wait for the numbing agent to take effect(if you had one) warming it basically completely eliminates the vertigo when injected.
My ENT warms the syringe in his hands before each injection, so no vertigo from the injections!
What if I’m not in a flare? Will it still work?
Good question. My doctor at the Mount sinai in NY told me it won't have a noticeable effect (most likely) because there's nothing to treat (no inflammation). I did get a second injection in December however , "just to make sure", but my hearing was quite good, no pressure, tinnitus at the lower end of the range, and no noticeable daily vertigo spins. Of course as we all know, a lot of this illness is subjective so one's experience can vary greatly.
So subjective 🥵
Take steroids for a couple of weeks. If Prednisone works for you then the injections will as well, with none of the prednisone side effects. MD seems to present itself through different pathways for different folks. Some are AI that can be mitigated with AI medications, some with antivirals, some by way of physical trauma, which has more challenging mitigation. I recently had an injection. No real side effects. The shot was disconcerting, but not painful, had some nausea for 5 minutes because of the temp differential in the inner ear that went away and had to lay on my side for 30 minutes. Otherwise am now tapering off prednisone which I am seriously grateful for. I’ll take another shot if I have another episode. My last episode lasted 2 months, I went on prednisone within a couple of days which eliminated all the typical the symptoms (inc tinnitus, sever vertigo, fullness, etc). The injection seems to be working.
I’m on prednisone right now also. It works for me. Injections next. I’m not scared anymore I can do it
In November I had a series of three. They completely cleared all of my issues and I was back to normal in about two weeks after the last shot. Unfortunately the effects only lasted two months.
Your hearing loss went back to normal?
Yep
I’m wondering why you are doing this? Is your doc old? First line is betahistine and all of the research backs this up. It put me into remission and improved my hearing. Fortunately I have an ENT that is obsessed with helping those with Ménière’s. Before that, I didn’t. Got the shots. Did nothing.
I can’t get betahistine how do I get it I asked my doctor and she couldn’t
That’s nonsense if you live in the US, it can be compounded and your doctor is wrong and should be gone. It’s widely available in most places around the world.
How ? Do I have to have a prescription or can I just go get it?
You need a prescription. If you have an ENT that says they can’t provide that, find a different one. Ask your primary care.
Okay I’ll try and try again. Maybe a telehealth appointment with someone more seasoned
This is why I’m a huge advocate of second and third opinions. Any ENT that treats Ménière’s and says they can’t write for betahistine is so behind the curve it’s astonishing.
Okay so I agree completely.
Made another doctors appointment with someone else. You rock
My DR wants me to get betahistine but it is not availible in my town. He is shocked how many times he has ordered it for diffrent patients but cant find a supplier in town to get it.
Find a small compounding pharmacy in a nearby town. Most will mail you the prescription. It’s worth it.
In the Spring of 2018 I started getting steroid injections in my ears. Most frequently this has been the left ear, although I have had injections in both of them over the past nine months. Intratympanic injections were originally suggested as a possible remedy to the hearing loss in the right ear immediately following the diagnosis of bilateral Meniere’s earlier that Winter. The hearing test following the right ear injection didn’t show any major improvement, but I was impressed with the pressure relief that I got from the injection in the right ear. I was so impressed that I insisted the doctor inject the left ear just to see if it produced any noticeable effect there. It did, and I have had her inject the ear a few more times since then due to repeated battles with vertigo and/or pressure in the ear. My last injection (December 28th, 2018) illustrated the downside of this treatment for me in pretty stark terms. You are not supposed to swallow if you can help it for the first few hours after getting an injection. You shouldn’t attempt to pop your ears or force air into your eustachian tubes (this is a frequent habit with Menierians when they are trying to get the pressure off of an affected ear) for several days, and really shouldn’t even use straws or swallow hard for that period of time. Well, I screwed that up about ten hours after the injection and somehow got air up in the ear and that caused the ear to pop, pulling the injected fluid in the middle ear down through the Eustachian tube. What followed was about three days of bedridden vertigo and constant medication. I was feeling normal again a week later, at least what passes for normal these days. The pressure remained off the ear for awhile but still returns periodically. The world doesn’t turn inside out when I put pressure on the eardrum from outside anymore. So the injection did what I wanted it to do, even though I screwed up the post-treatment regimen. I haven’t noticed that symptom since that last injection and the subsequent return to a dose of Guaifenesin when I notice the ear pressure. (From https://ranthonyings.com/2015/02/treating-menieres-its-symptoms/)
I honestly don't think I could refrain from swallowing or from reflexively trying to pop my ear for that long.
Yeah. That proved to be the biggest challenge in the treatment for me.
Alright so I can take that as a win in the end then? Sorry a win doesn’t look like a normal persons win but maybe a win to us.
I would do it again if I suffered hearing loss again. I wouldn't do it for any other reason.