Aplastic anemia and sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

In the present study, the clinical and audiological features of 3 patients with aplastic anemia who subsequently developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss are reported. These patients, for whom a diagnosis of aplastic anemia had previously been confirmed, suddenly developed profound or complete hearing loss accompanied by tinnitus and severe vertigo. In addition to erythrocytopenia and thrombocytopenia, serial hematological examinations revealed a marked drop in the platelet count prior to or just at the time of the acute episode of hearing loss. The prognosis for hearing recovery was poor in each patient. These findings suggest that intracochlear hemorrhage could be a mechanism underlying the sudden sensorineural hearing loss in these patients.