SUDDEN SENSORINEURAL HEARING-LOSS FOLLOWING NONOTOLOGIC, NONCARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS-SURGERY

Objectives: To report 3 cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SS HL) following nonotologic surgery in which cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB ) surgery was not involved and to review reports in the literature of similar cases. Data Sources: Clinical records and MEDLINE and Healthst ar databases. Study Selection: Reports in the world literature of case s of SSHL following nonotologic, non-CPB surgery. Data Synthesis: Whil e said to be more common after CPB surgery, fewer than 20 cases of SSH L following nonotologic, non-CPB surgery have been reported. A number of proposed causes of SSHL temporally related to non-otologic, non-CPB surgery have been theorized; however, the true cause is unknown. This report presents 3 cases of SSHL following nonotologic, non-CPB surger y. Two patients had profound unilateral loss; 1 had moderate bilateral loss. None of the patients demonstrated recovery despite diuretic and prednisone therapy; in approximately 30% of the cases reported to dat e, the patients experienced significant improvement. Conclusions: Sudd en sensorineural hearing loss following nonotologic, non-CPB surgery i s rare, and its cause remains unknown. The scarcity of reports of SSHL following nonotologic, non-CPB surgery raises the possibility that th e apparent association may be spurious.