title: Sensorineural Hearing Loss due to Air Bag Deployment.
abstract: Deployment of the air bag in a passenger vehicle accident rarely causes otologic injuries. However, sensorineural hearing loss induced by air bag deployment is extremely rare, with only a few cases reported in the English literature. A 38-year-old man involved in a traffic accident while driving his car at 40 km/hour presented with right sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, without associated vertigo. Pure-tone audiometry demonstrated elevated thresholds of 30 dB and 25 dB at 4 kHz and 8 kHz, respectively, on the right side. Air bag deployment in car accidents is associated with the risk of development of sensorineural hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohki
authors.forename: Jyunichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tahara