The Pathology Of Sudden Deafness

Pathological studies were performed on eight temporal bones, of which six were from individuals with unilateral sudden deafness and two from one individual with bilateral sequential sudden deafness. The hearing losses were profound in four ears, severe in three ears and moderate in one ear. At the time of onset of the sudden deafness two reported having headcolds, one had acute pharyngitis, two had pneumonia and two complained of headache. Vertigo as an associated symptom was severe in one case and mild in two cases. The principal pathological changes consisted of atrophy, in varying combinations and severity, of the organ of Corti, tectorial membrane and stria vascularis. These pathological alterations were judged to be more like those occurring in labyrinthitis of known viral etiology than those following experimentally induced vascular lesions in animals.