Mitral valve prolapse and sudden deafness

Association between mitral valve prolapse and sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A case-control population-based study

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and MVP using a population-based dataset. Data for this case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. In total, 3399 cases of newly diagnosed SSNHL were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 3399 comparison patients (one for every case) from the same dataset. The selected matching variables included age, sex, monthly income, geographical location, urbanization level of the patient's residence, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Chi-squared tests were used to compare differences in sociodemographic characteristics, while conditional logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of SSNHL with previously diagnosed MVP. Of the 6798 sampled subjects, 131 (1.93%) patients had received a diagnosis of MVP prior to the index date. A significant difference in the prevalence of prior MVP between cases and controls (2.41% vs. 1.44%, p = 0.004) was observed. The conditional logistic regression analysis conditioned on gender, age, monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension suggested that the odds ratio of prior MVP for cases was 1.69 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18~2.42) compared to controls. Our study found that patients with MVP had a 1.69-fold higher risk of getting SSNHL compared to patients without MVP.

Temporary bilateral sensorineural hearing loss following cardiopulmonary bypass -A case report-

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss has been reported to occur following anesthesia and various non-otologic surgeries, mostly after procedures involving cardiopulmonary bypass. Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss resulting from microembolism is an infrequent complication of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery that has long been acknowledged. Moreover, there are few reports on the occurrence of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss without other neurologic deficits and its etiology has also not been determined. We describe here a rare case of bilateral hearing loss without other neurologic deficits in an otherwise healthy 27-year-old woman who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery for repair of severe mitral valve stenosis. The patient suffered from profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears that was recognized immediately upon extubation, and audiometry tests confirmed the diagnosis. Without any treatment, her hearing recovered almost completely by the time of her discharge one week after surgery.

[Consensus on diagnosis and treatment of sudden hearing loss. Asociación Madrileña de ORL]

Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss is an unexplained unilateral hearing loss with onset over a period of less than 72 hours, without other known otological diseases. We present a consensus on the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of this disease, designed by AMORL, after a systematic review of the literature from 1966 to June 2010. Diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss is based on mandatory otoscopy, acoumetry, tonal audiometry, speech audiometry, and tympanometry. After clinical diagnosis is settled, and before treatment is started, a full analysis should be done and an MRI should be requested later. Treatment is based on systemic corticosteroids (orally in most cases), helped by intratympanic doses as rescue after treatment failures. Follow-up should be done at day 7, with tonal and speech audiometries, and regularly at 15, 30, and 90 days after start of therapy, and after 12 months. By consensus, results after treatment should be reported as absolute dBs recovered in pure tonal audiometry, as improvement in the recovery rate in unilateral cases, and as improvement in speech audiometry.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is usually unilateral and can be associated with tinnitus and vertigo. In most cases the cause is not identified, although various infective, vascular, and immune causes have been proposed. A careful examination is needed to exclude life threatening or treatable causes such as vascular events and malignant diseases, and patients should be referred urgently for further assessment. About half of patients completely recover, usually in about 2 weeks. Many treatments are used, including corticosteroids, antiviral drugs, and vasoactive and oxygen-based treatments. Although no treatment is proven, we recommend a short course of oral high-dose corticosteroids. There is much to learn about pathogenesis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and more clinical trials are needed to establish evidence-based management.