Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss after general anaesthesia

Hearing changes after temporomandibular joint arthroscopy: a prospective study

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) arthroscopy is considered an effective and safe minimally invasive surgical approach. While the long-term outcomes of arthroscopy tend to be positive and free of secondary effects, patients occasionally complain about their hearing following the treatment. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate possible hearing changes associated with TMJ arthroscopy. Pure-tone audiograms were performed in patients two weeks before TMJ arthroscopy and repeated six weeks after intervention. A total of 15 patients (mean age of 41.73±16.36) were enrolled; 25 TMJ arthroscopies were performed (five unilateral and ten bilateral). Statistically significant differences were found between preoperative and postoperative audiograms in the frequencies 256Hz (P=0.011) and 8kHz (P=0.058, borderline). For the frequency 256Hz the difference was favourable, but not superior to 5dB. For the frequency 8kHz, in three patients the TMJ arthroscopy resulted in a decrease of 10dB. However, no clinical hearing changes or complaints were observed in the involved patients. No differences in audiograms between level 1 or 2 arthroscopy were observed. The study reinforces the safety of the TMJ arthroscopy level 1 and 2 with the reported protocol. The authors recommend larger studies to validate the results, specially for frequency 8kHz.

Rare Causes of Unilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Adults: Our Experience

Bilateral hearing loss is attributed to almost 50% of times with genetic etiology, while most unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (USNHL) are not attributable to it. Limited literature is available on epidemiology of USNHL. Etiology of USNHL is very diverse and vast, it ranges from as common as Meniere's disease to as rare as an electric shock injury. A prospective study was carried out to find rare causes of USNHL in adults. In this manuscript, we present a case series of 7 rare etiologies of USNHL in adults like auditory neuropathy, chemoradiotherapy, dialysis-induced SNHL, common cavity inner ear malformation, multiple sclerosis, acute otitis media-induced SNHL and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia. This study discusses the rare possible etiologies of USNHL that can be easily missed if these are not ruled out properly. We present these cases to consider these heterogeneous and distinct causes of USNHL because of rarity of these etiologies. If such an etiology is diagnosed in time, they may be managed effectively.

Sudden onset hearing loss following intra-abdominal surgery: an unusual association

We describe the case of a 12-year-old boy who reported unilateral hearing loss following laparoscopic appendicectomy for acute appendicitis under general anaesthesia. He was otherwise fit and well with no previous otological history. Formal audiological assessment by pure tone audiogram demonstrated a unilateral high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).In addition to describing his clinical course, a literature review of SNHL following non-otological surgery was performed. We recommend an awareness of this phenomenon, necessitating its prompt recognition, early audiological assessment and management as per sudden onset SNHL guidelines.