A case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with mycoplasma pneumonia

Abstract

A 55-year-old woman presented with the chief complaint of breathing difficulty and hearing loss. She visited a local physician on April 24, 2007 because of fever and coughing for about 6 days. Pneumonia was found by chest x-rays, and she was referred to our hospital for the further examinations and treatment. On pure tone audiometry, a sensorineural hearing loss was found in both ears. In the respiratory medical department, mycoplasma pneumonia was diagnosed, and cephem and macrolide antibiotics were administered. The intravenous drip infusion of steroids was started in our department. When she was discharged hospital on May 3, her hearing level was improved up to 43dB in the right ear and 46dB in the left ear. The antibody high value was thought to due to infection of mycoplasma. The cochlear canaliculus theory, the autoimmunity theory, and the round window theory were convincing for mechanism of her sensorineural hearing loss. It may be said that an autoimmunity theory was reasonable in our case. It seemed that it was necessary to keep a possibility of mycoplasmal infection in mind when sensorineural hearing loss was accompanied with pneumonia.