Thanks.Prednisone and all steroids have a *highly* variable intracochlear penetrance. So much so that Otonomy has a phase 3 drug that is just Dexamethasone in a penetrative gel which would be completely unnecessarily if steroids were easy to get in the cochlea.
I am aware of that. I meant it in the way that if one was to take steroids or other anti-inflammatory drugs orally (maybe for another purpose) and it made tinnitus lower for a while, it could give a clue as to whether inflammation would be (at least partly) responsible for tinnitus.
I believe the same coincidence led to the observation that IV lidocaine helped some people lower their tinnitus temporarily, again suggesting inflammation may be the cause.
Prednisone does nothing for me, but I guess someone could try and see if it helps in their case if feeling particularly curious and adventurous.
Not sure if one could get access to intratympanic Dexamethasone as easily, so it's not really a viable way to "experiment" with.