[Sudden deafness and Behçet's disease]

Behçet's disease is a multisystemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology. Generally, it is characterized by recurrent aphthous stomatitis, recurrent genital ulcers, uveitis with hypopion. Recently some authors reported that patients with Behçet's disease show frequently audio-vestibular involvement. We observed a 40 year-old man (case A) and a 66 year-old woman (case B) affected by Behçet's disease for more than 10 years, showing a sudden deafness occurring during an exacerbation of the disease. In both cases there was a sensorineural hearing-loss, unilateral or bilateral. One patient received early high-dose cortisone therapy. General symptoms and audiovestibular function, both have completely recovered.