Inner-ear obliteration in ulcerative colitis patients with sensorineural hearing loss

Systemic autoimmune diseases, including ulcerative colitis, may involve the inner ear. Several ulcerative colitis cases presenting with sensorineural hearing loss have been reported. We report the T2-weighted, three-dimensional, inner-ear magnetic resonance imaging findings in the inner ears of two such patients.

Case reports and a review of the literature concerning autoimmune disease and sensorineural hearing loss are presented.

We describe two cases of ulcerative colitis with sensorineural hearing loss in which three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging revealed obliteration of the inner ear. Those inner ears with obliteration had severe hearing loss, and responded poorly to steroid therapy.

To our knowledge, there has been no previous published report of the T2-weighted, inner-ear magnetic resonance imaging findings of cases of ulcerative colitis with sensorineural hearing loss. This paper represents the first published report in the world literature of inner-ear obliteration in such patients. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging is beneficial in elucidating the pathophysiology of the inner-ear involvement seen in ulcerative colitis.