Juvenile unilateral total deafness of unknown etiology

Abstract

Unilateral perceptive deafness in which one ear is impaired by 60db or more and the other ear essentialy normal is fairly uncommon.The clinical pictures of seventy cases of such unilateral deafness have been studied.Etiology : Many cases might have been attributed to menier's syndrome and sudden deafness (20cases), local and general infection (10 cases), brain tumor (7 cases), head injure (4 cases) and streptmycine deafness (1 cases). The largest group (28cases), however, was obscure the etiology and time of onset (Figure 1).Age at onset or awarness of the impairment:most cases were under twenty years old, and far younger age group was most evident. (Figure 1, 2).Complication: Tinnitus and vertigo were observed in 29% and 24% respectively, but on the younger cases than twenty (Table 3, B) the complication were very seldom seen.Through this observation, the group of unilateral impairment was differentiated because of the special picture presented from that of other unilateral deafness, and a term Juvenile unilateral total deafness of unknown etiology was proposed by the author.The characteristic of this group are as follows :a. unilateral, total and permanent deafness in one ear, and normal hearing in other ear.b. onset under twenty years old or in younger age.c. principally, not complicated with tinnitus and vertigo.d. no difference between male and female.According to this study, the probable etiology could be infection, especially virus infection in very early life, but congenital origin should not be ruled out.