Abstract
Acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) has been considered as a clinical entity characterized by 1) unknown etiology, 2) sudden onset of low-tone sensorineural hearing loss, and 3) without vertigo. The prognosis of ALHL has been reported to be good. In this paper, we reported 2 cases of ALHL whose hearing loss progressed to profound hearing loss. The clinical features of the cases included 1) middle aged male, 2) cochlear hearing loss, and 3) no response to glycerol administration. Both cases showed autoantibodies, but their hearing loss did not respond to the administration of steroid hormone. From these features, the pathophysiology of hearing loss in these patients was considered different from that of cochlear Meniere's disease or autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss. Further investigation will be needed to clarify the pathophysiology of this clinical entity.
