Labyrinthine involvement in Behcet's syndrome

We report the neuro-otological findings in 26 consecutive patients with def inite and probable Behcet's syndrome unselected for audiovestibular complai nts. Auditory and/or vestibular abnormalities were found in 19 (73 per cent ) patients, with auditory involvement in 14 (54 per cent) and vestibular in 10 (38.5 per cent) of patients. Peripheral involvement was more common tha n central involvement for both auditory and vestibular lesions. Bilateral c ochlear hearing impairment was the most common audiological finding, wherea s unilateral peripheral dysfunction was the prevailing vestibular abnormali ty. No correlation has been found between audiovestibular lesions and other organ lesions, disease duration or age or sex of the patients. Moreover, t here was a lack of interdependence between cochlear and vestibular labyrint hine lesions. We conclude that a full neuro-otological assessment in patien ts under investigation for Behcet's syndrome may reveal labyrinth involveme nt in a substantial proportion of patients. In view of the absence of a spe cific diagnostic test for Behcet's syndrome, audiovestibular lesions may pr ovide further diagnostic support for this disorder.