Coital vertigo after ear surgery: When is sex safe?

Abstract

(Editorial Comment: This report brings to our attention an activity [sexual intercourse] that is not usually considered when cautioning patients who have recently undergone stapes surgery.) Perilymph fistula is a well-recognized complication of head injury and stapes surgery. External forces such as baro and acoustic trauma, and internal factors, such as violent sneezing and straining that cause increased intracranial pressure, have also been implicated.’ Spontaneous perilymph fistula has been reported with ever increasing numbers.2J14 Podoshin et a1,5 in an attempt to find specific diagnostic tests for perilymph fistula, have concluded that no one test is truly diagnostic, and that the only definitive diagnosis is during exploratory tympanotomy. A computerized literature search for reports of perilymph fistula associated with sexual intercourse found none. This study reports four patients who developed vertigo, perilymph leak, and deterioration in hearing, which was associated with sexual intercourse after ear surgery that involved fistulization of the inner ear or exposure of it to the outside.