A Clinical Trial of Anakinra for Steroid-Resistant Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease

Inclusion Criteria: * Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss with an active decline in hearing in one ear * No audiometric improvement with 28-30 days of oral prednisone or other corticosteroid, including an initial dose of 60mg per day for 14 days * Enrollment within 14 days of completion of corticosteroid therapy * Age 13 years and older * No evidence of neutropenia (low white blood cell count) * No evidence of retrocochlear pathology (ie. acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannoma) * May have concurrent, systemic autoimmune disease Exclusion Criteria: * Age over 75, or less than 13 * Neutropenia * Renal insufficiency * Pregnant females * Unilateral hearing loss * Patients with any immunodeficiency syndrome * Patients receiving methotrexate or any TNF (tumor necrosis factor) antagonist therapy * Patients with chronic infections * Patients treated for a malignancy within the past 3 years * Patients with a latex allergy * Patients with an inner ear anomaly * Patients with retrocochlear pathology