Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Setting of Acute Methamphetamine Overdose

2021 ◽  
pp. 014556132110693
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Reich ◽  
Harleen K. Sethi ◽  
Robert T. Sataloff

Substance abuse is a rare but known cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). We report a case of acute SNHL in a 28-year-old man following an overdose of methamphetamine and incidental ingestion of fentanyl. On initial encounter, he had moderate-to-severe hearing loss in the right ear and severe-to-profound hearing loss in the left ear in addition to acute kidney injury, liver failure, and lactic acidosis. The patient was treated with a two-week course of high-dose steroids and expressed a subjective improvement in hearing. This case highlights the importance of auditory testing following a drug overdose and is one of the only documented cases of hearing loss following methamphetamine use in recent years. There is a paucity of literature regarding the mechanism causing acute SNHL secondary to methamphetamines. Proposed etiologies include neurotransmitter depletion or reduced cochlear blood flow as possible causes of ototoxicity.

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (06) ◽  
pp. 461-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia G. Fowler ◽  
Jennifer L. King

Background: Hearing loss is an infrequently-reported consequence of recreational drug abuse. Although there are sporadic reports of hearing loss from heroin and cocaine ingested separately, there are no reports of hearing loss resulting from the combination of both drugs ingested simultaneously in the form of speedballing. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to document a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with an episode of speedballing. Research Design: Case Report Data Collection And Analysis: The subject of this report was a 40-year-old man with a 20-year history of substance abuse. Data collected included a case history, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry and acoustic reflexes, and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. Results: The audiologic evaluation indicated a mild to moderate, relatively flat, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss that was worse in the right ear. Conclusions: A bilateral sensorineural hearing loss involving both cochlear and neural pathology may be a rare complication of cocaine, heroin, or the combination of the two drugs.


Author(s):  
Masoud Motasaddi Zarandy ◽  
Hakima Abdullah ◽  
Mina Motasaddi Zarandy ◽  
Mohammadreza Firouzifar ◽  
Farzad Moubedshahi

Background: Osteopetrosis (OP) is a rare disease of the skeletal system that can be associated with complications such as bone fracture, nerve dysfunction and deafness due to increased bone density and reduced bone quality. In this regard and due to the challenge that it can cause for cochlear implantation (CI), in this study we aimed to report CI conducted on two patients with OP in Iran. The Case: Patients were two women diagnosed with OP and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) who underwent CI in the right ear. Preoperative PTA showed a hearing threshold decrease of more than 100 dB in both patients. A standard cochleostomy was performed in one patient and endoscopic surgery in the other patient through the external ear canal. One month after surgery, the hearing threshold improved b y 60−90 dB in both patients. No facial nerve palsy or implant extrusion/migration was observed after surgery. Conclusion: Although technically challenging, CI seems to be a safe and effective method to improve the SNHL in patients with OP. The path for electrode insertion should be tailored to meet the conditions and anatomy of patients. Keywords: Cochlear implantation; osteopetrosis; sensorineural hearing loss


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Suran L. Fernando ◽  
Therese Boyle ◽  
Annika Smith ◽  
John D.E. Parratt

Susac’s syndrome is a rare and debilitating disease characterized by the triad of encephalopathy, branch retinal artery occlusions, and sensorineural hearing loss. All manifestations may not be clinically apparent at presentation resulting in delayed diagnosis. Early recognition of the syndrome may prevent disease sequelae such as permanent cognitive, visual, and hearing loss. We present such a case of Susac’s syndrome that was also refractory to conventionally prescribed combination of immunosuppressive treatments including high-dose potent corticosteroids, intravenous cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, plasma exchange, rituximab, and mycophenolate. His disease was stabilized with infliximab in combination with a tapering course of low-dose prednisone. After 2 years of remission with TNF treatment, consideration is being given to ceasing therapy. He has the sequelae of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss but no visual impairment or cognitive deficits on follow-up with neuropsychometric testing. This is the first case report to our knowledge of the successful use of infliximab for a patient with Susac’s syndrome that was necessary following treatment with cyclophosphamide and then rituximab.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Witold Szyfter ◽  
Michał Karlik ◽  
Alicja Sekula ◽  
Simon Harris ◽  
Wojciech Gawęcki

Introduction: Surgical treatment of deafness by cochlear implants is used for more than 40 years, and during this period permanently, gradual and significant expansion of indications for this surgery has been observed. Material and methods: In our Department in the years 1994-2018 1480 cochlear implantations were performed, both in adults (647) and in children (883). In this study current indications and the rules for eligibility of patients based on 25 years of experience are presented. Results: Indications for cochlear implantation in adults are: 1) bilateral postlingual deafness, 2) bilateral sensorineural hearing loss - in pure tone audiometry > 70 dB HL (average 500-4000 Hz) and in speech audiometry in hearing aids understanding < 50% of words for the intensity of the stimulus 65 dB, in the absence of the benefits of hearing aids, 3) bilateral profound hearing loss for high frequency with good hearing for low frequency, in the absence of the benefits of hearing aids, 4) some cases of asymmetric hearing loss with intensive tinnitus in the deaf ear. An indication in children is bilateral sensorineural hearing loss > 80dB HL confirmed by hearing tests, after about 6 months of rehabilitation with the use of hearing aids. Discussion: Although cochlear implantation is used for more than 40 years, the indications for this treatment underlies constant modifications. They concern the age of eligible patients, implantation in patients with partially preserved hearing, as well as treatment for patients with difficult anatomical conditions. In many countries, bilateral implantations are commonly performed, and more and more centers recommend this treatment in the case of unilateral deafness or asymmetric hearing loss, especially with the accompanying tinnitus in the deaf ear.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. e234076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A Castillo-Torres ◽  
Carlos A Soto-Rincón ◽  
Héctor J Villarreal-Montemayor ◽  
Beatriz Chávez-Luévanos

Neurotoxicity from intrathecally administered chemotherapeutic drugs is frequent, particularly with some agents like methotrexate, which are more prone to developing adverse effects. Myelopathy ranks among the most frequently reported neurological entities; with the diagnosis being straightforward, after ruling out infectious, metabolic, autoimmune or paraneoplastic causes. Scarcity of cases precludes evidence-based recommendations for the management of these complications. The most common therapeutic approach consists of the suspension of chemotherapy, exclusion of infectious and neoplastic causes, with prompt administration of high-dose steroids. We report a 21-year-old patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, who developed acute transverse myelitis and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, after five rounds of intrathecal methotrexate and cytarabine. Although neurotoxicity from both agents has been documented, this combination has not been previously reported.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 208-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa G. Schweitzer ◽  
Ilaaf Darrat ◽  
Brad A. Stach ◽  
Elizabeth Gray

Background: Auditory disorders associated with substance abuse are rare. Hearing loss secondary to heroin and hydrocodone abuse has been described variously as not always responsive to steroid management, as not always reversible, and in some cases, as nonresponsive profound sensorineural hearing loss requiring cochlear implantation. We present a case of a teenager with sudden-onset moderate to severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss after documented polysubstance “binging.” The hearing loss improved substantially after high-dose steroid and vasoactive therapy. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe the hearing disorder of a patient who had awakened with a bilateral severe hearing loss following a night of recreational drug abuse. Research Design: Case report and review of the literature. Data Collection and Analysis: The subject of this report is an 18-yr-old patient with a history of substance abuse. Data collected were magnetic resonance /computed tomography brain imaging; metabolic, infectious disease, and autoimmune evaluation; and extensive audiologic evaluation, including pure-tone and speech audiometry, immittance measures, distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, and auditory brainstem response testing. Serial audiograms were collected for 10 mo following the onset of symptoms. Results: Two days of polysubstance abuse (heroin, benzodiazepine, alcohol, and crack [smoked cocaine]) resulted in moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss bilaterally. The loss responded to a 1 mo course of high-dose prednisone and a 10 mo course of pentoxifylline. Hearing sensitivity subsequently improved, leaving only residual high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. Conclusions: This case report highlights the importance of “recreational” drug abuse in the evaluation of sudden hearing loss. Potential etiologies include altered pharmacokinetics, vascular spasm/ischemia, encephalopathy, acute intralabyrinthine hemorrhage, and genetic polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 3034-3039
Author(s):  
Rania Abdulfattah Sharaf ◽  
Rudrapathy Palaniappan

Objective: To assess balance function in patients with radiologically confirmed otosclerosis. Methods: Sixteen patients (14 females and 2 males), who attended the Neuro-Otology clinic/ ENT clinics at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, participated in this study. After general medical, audiological and Neuro-Otological examination, patients underwent the caloric and rotational testing. Results: Thirteen of the 16 patients had radiologically confirmed otosclerosis (12 females and 1 male). A total of 3 patients (2 females and 1 male) did not have CT confirmation of otosclerosis, and therefore, were excluded from the study. The remaining 13 patients' data were analyzed. Nine patients had a mixed hearing impairment at least on one side, while eight patients had a bilateral mixed hearing loss and one patient had a sensorineural hearing loss on one side. Four patients had a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Only 1 patient had a canal paresis (CP) at 35 %. None of the patients had any significant directional preponderance (DP). The patient with significant CP (35%) did not show any rotational asymmetry on impulsive rotation. Eleven patients had a rotational chair test. Only one patient had a significant asymmetry to the right at 25.30% (normal range is <20%). Overall, 18% (n = 2) of the radiologically confirmed otosclerosis patients showed an abnormal balance test, including both caloric and rotational tests. More than 80% (n = 9) of the patients with radiological otosclerosis showed balance symptoms. Conclusions: the current study indicates a high prevalence of balance symptoms (n = 9 or 82%) in patients with radiological otosclerosis, although only a small proportion (n = 2 or 18%) showed an abnormal vestibular function on caloric and impulse rotation testing. However, due to a small number of samples, further validation of this result is warranted.  


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanbin Huang ◽  
Changwei Li

A case of recurrent sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear is presented. The patient was a 58-year-old Chinese woman with profound hearing loss, a feeling of fullness in the ear, vomiting and severe dizziness for 2 months. A head scan and MRI of the brain and neck showed no cause for the symptoms. The ear, nose and throat specialist diagnosed a microcirculatory dysfunction, rejecting the diagnosis of Meniere's disease. The patient did not respond to medical treatment and after 2 months attended for acupuncture. It was suspected that the severe dizziness was associated with her neck and back pain. Daily electroacupuncture treatments to her ear, back and neck were given. After 1 month the dizziness was significantly reduced and the hearing loss recovered to a good level. The patient's symptoms recurred after exposure to cold and strong wind and again recovered with acupuncture. She later suffered a third recurrence of severe dizziness which again responded to acupuncture.


Author(s):  
S. I. Ereniev ◽  
O. V. Plotnikova

Biological age and rates of aging of patients with vibration disease and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were studied. The biological age of patients exceeded the calendar age by an average of 7.36±0.36 years and the proper biological age by 10.79±0.72 years. The rate of biological aging of the examined patients was 1.14±0.08 times higher than the rate of aging of their healthy peers.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (03) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Hawkins

A case report is presented of a 62-year-old software product manager who had normal hearing in one ear and a congenital profound hearing loss in the other ear and then sustained a sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the only hearing ear. The approach to amplification decisions, cochlear implant evaluation, and rehabilitation options are discussed. Providing aural rehabilitation and continually updating and providing new amplification options and accessories are described. Se presenta un reporte de caso de un gerente de productos de software de 62 años de edad quien tenía audición normal en un oído y un sordera congénita profunda en el otro, y quién súbitamente sufrió una sordera sensorineural súbita en el único oído con audición. Se discute el enfoque de decisiones de amplificación, la evaluación para implante coclear, y las opciones de rehabilitación. Se describen las pautas para proveer rehabilitación aural y para actualizar continuamente y aportar nuevas opciones de amplificación.


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