[Inner ear deafness following lumbar puncture. A complication requiring patient education?]

Deafness after lumbar puncture has been reported occasionally. Until now this complication has been regarded as spontaneously reversible, but a more recent publication of three cases of irreversible hearing loss possibly caused by lumbar puncture casts doubt on this. It has been proposed that this complication should be included in the pre-operative information given to patients, but we oppose this proposal.