This report is based on 80 cascs of sudden deafness in patients with vertigo treated in the Department of Otolaryngology, Kanazawa University, from 1975 through 1984.
There were 32 males and 48 females. The incidence was highest in the fourth decade. The hearing loss was severe more than 90dB in 53.8% of, indicating a parallel relationship between the degree of hearing loss and sudden deafhess in this groups of patients. About 60% of the patients complained of a whirling sensation. Spontaneous nystagmus and positional nystagmus were found in 37.5% of the patients.
In 40% sudden deafness was accompanied by complaints of vertigo, and the prognosis in these cases was poor. There was a significant difference between the prognosis of sudden deafness with or without vertigo, especially in cases of severe hearing loss and fresh cases treated within 7 days after the onset of disease.
These data indicate that the etiology and pathology of sudden deafness are different in patients with and without vertigo.