A case of delayed endolymphatic hydrops due to mumps viral infection treated with the Meniett device

Abstract

Objective: We report a case of delayed endolymphatic hydrops due to complicating mumps virus infection that was treated with the Meniett device.
Method: Case reports and a review of the world literature on delayed development of endolymphatic hydrops after mumps virus infection are presented.
Results: The case of a woman who presented with unilateral, reversible sensorineural hearing loss following mumps infection and was successfully treated with the Meniett device is presented. This woman developed profound sensorineural hearing loss and intractable vertigo spells a few months after contracting mumps. In this case, the incubation period interval between the development of mumps infection and the diagnosis of DEH was only one year. DEH (Delayed endolymphatic hydrops) is a clinical entity characterized by profound sensorineural hearing loss in one ear during its early phase; after a prolonged period of time, DEH enters the late phase, which is characterized by different otologic symptoms. Although the most common causes of DEH are inflammation, trauma and other unidentified events during childhood, viral infections, including mumps, represent one of the known causes of DEH. Mumps infection sometimes represents a confirmed etiology of DEH Sometimes DEH can definitively be diagnosed as being caused by mumps infection.
Conclusion: This is the first case report to demonstrate the efficacy of the Meniett device in the treatment of DEH due to complicating mumps infection.