A Case of Behcet Disease with Fluctuating Sensory Hearing Loss

Abstract

A 40-year-old woman with Behcet disease with fluctuating hearing loss was followed. The pure tone audiogram revealed a loss of 75 dB on the average bilaterally. After audiologic examination, the inner ear and brain stem lesions were suspected to be the site of pathologic foci. The patient had had recurrent painful ulceration in the oral and genital legions for over 10 years. Steroid therapy was effective but these symptoms had become progressively worse, greater hearing loss and increase of immunecomplex also occurred. The pathogenesis of hearing loss in Behcet disease has not been clearly determined but may be related to autoimmunity. The perlinent literature is briefly reviewed.