Bilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss as a First Sign of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss as the initial sign of a hematological disease is very rare condition. A 34-year- old male presented to our clinic with bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The patient was found to have chronic myelogenous leukaemia during a work-up for his hearing loss. This paper reports an unusual case in which presented bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss as the first manifestation of the chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Pure tone audiometry revealed profound sensorineural hearing loss of the bilateral ear at all frequencies. The patient was diagnosed as having idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and admitted for treatment, but his laboratory data indicated that he had an undiagnosed kind of leukemia. The mechanism producing bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss in leukemic patient was reviewed and discussed, and the importance of differentiating possible underlying diseases before we diagnose idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss was highlighted.