Sudden hearing loss after general anesthesia--a case report.

Hearing impairment following many types of neuraxial anesthetic techniques has alreadly been reported previously. However, postoperative sudden hearing loss after general anesthesia (excluding cardiopulmonary bypass cases) for nonotologic surgery is rarely reported. We present a 42-year-old female patient, who underwent ophthalmologic surgery under general anesthesia because of diabetic retinopathy and developed postoperative hearing loss of the left ear. Sensorineural hearing loss was diagnosed and it has persisted without improvement for 2 years following surgery.