Report of a Patient with Bilateral Secretory Otitis Mediafollowed by Bilateral Sudden Deafness of Viral Origin

Abstract

A case of bilateral serous otitis media followed by bilateral sudden deafness andright facial paresis in a 58-year-old woman is described. When she visited us on October 2, bilateral serous otitis media and sensorineural hearing loss were diagnosedotoscopically and audiometrically. Steroid therapy had been begun 14 weeks previouslywhen she had had left ear fullness which brought her to an otologist, thoughshe could not continue adequate therapy. Ten weeks later (in the beginning of September),she noticed right hearing loss and tinnitus, and was diagnosed as having bilateralsudden deafness. On October 30, right facial paresis developed. The Herpessimplex titer was 4 on October 2, 128 on October 30. Facial weakness recoveredcompletely after 2 weeks, left hearing loss recovered almost completely before the end of December but right hearing loss was marked.