Steroid-responsive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and immune complexes.

We have recognized in recent years that some cases with idiopathic bilateral sensorineural hearing loss which showed acute progression in either ear responded to steroid and that the improved hearing level could be maintained by longterm administration of steroid only. Forty cases of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were selected for study. In most of these cases hearing deterioration of either ear was confirmed by audiometry. Eight of fifteen cases with marked improvement have been proved to respond to steroid treatment. These eight cases include three cases with syphilitic deafness and one case with aortitis syndrome. In four other cases the causes are still unknown, but could be due to autoimmune mechanisms. In four of 25 cases the immune complexes (IC) value was higher than normal and three among them responded to steroid. Since a high IC value has been reported in lupus nephritis, immunologic examinations are necessary for patients over 30 years of age with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.