Temporal bone findings in a case of sudden deafness and relapsing polychondritis.
Light microscopic examination was made of the right temporal bone from a 57-year-old female who developed sudden total hearing loss in both ears 1 year before death. The patient had suffered from relapsing polychondritis for 1 1/2 years prior to death. Pathological changes were compatible with known viral endolymphatic labyrinthritis. Slight ossification and fibrous tissue proliferation in the perilymphatic space seem to have been caused by a spread of infection from the middle ear. Susceptibility to viral infection in the labyrinth in patients with a long-devastating illness is discussed.
D008267:Acoustic Maculae / Q000473:pathology; D003051:Cochlea / Q000473:pathology; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000473:pathology*; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011081:Polychondritis, Relapsing / Q000150:complications*; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000473:pathology; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000473:pathology*