title: Sudden hearing loss in chronic myelogenous leukaemia implicating the hyperviscosity syndrome.
abstract: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss that presents as the initial sign of haematological disease is very rare. Chronic myelogenous leukaemia has been implicated as a causative factor of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. A 49-year-old male presented with unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The patient was found to have chronic myelogenous leukaemia during a work-up for his hearing loss. We present a case of a chronic myelogenous leukaemia patient whose first manifestation was sudden sensorineural hearing loss. We presume that cochlear vessel occlusion as a result of elevated blood viscosity was responsible for this patient's hearing loss. Early onset of sudden deafness in a chronic myelogenous leukaemia patient may be due to the hyperviscosity syndrome and it may be possible to reverse hearing loss through early leukapheresis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. chaeorl@kumc.or.kr
authors.forename: Sung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Jae Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jang Hyuck
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hee Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Soon Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D001809:Blood Viscosity; D003051:Cochlea / Q000098:blood supply; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007937:Leukapheresis; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D006918:Hydroxyurea