Sweet's syndrome in a patient with idiopathic progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss

Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, or Sweet's syndrome, was first descr ibed in 1964 and consists of a triad of erythematous cutaneous plaques infi ltrated by neutrophils in association with fever and leukocytosis. Sweet's syndrome has been reported to be associated with conditions ranging from up per respiratory tract infections to inflammatory bowel disease to rheumatoi d arthritis. We report a patient with a 2-year history of Sweet's syndrome in whom idiopathic progressive bilateral sensory neural hearing loss (IPBSN HL) developed. IPBSNHL is a suspected immunologically mediated hearing loss first described by McCabe in 1979. On the basis of this association, heari ng evaluation should be considered in the initial and subsequent examinatio ns of the patient with Sweet's syndrome.