["Sudden deafness" in childhood and adolescence. Symptoms, therapy and prognosis--a retrospective study]

Fourteen children and adolescents aged between four and 17 years with genuine sudden hearing loss were analyzed in a retrospective study. The symptoms of hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo were similar to those found in adults. The study's findings suggest that younger children particularly below the age of 14, will not suffer from these symptoms. Consequently, the disease was frequently diagnosed in younger children after the parents had observed defective hearing. In an 13-year-old child it was not possible to provoke a caloric vestibular response. As in the case of the other children (below 14 years of age) this patient did not complain of vertigo. -The prognosis of sudden hearing loss in children is poor. Thus 22% (two out of nine) of all patients treated with drugs became deaf. Moreover, 29% (four out of 14) of all patients examined (with and without therapy) remained deaf after sudden hearing loss. It is concluded that, due to this poor prognosis, a therapeutic attempt should be performed analogous to the treatment given to adults.