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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Published on: January 25, 2016
Neuroborreliosis complicated by severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss
E Zuccarelli1, C Leclerc2, C Sain Oulhen1
1Service d'ORL et de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale, Institut Arthur-Vernes, 36, rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris, France.
Introduction:
Neuroborreliosis (NB) is a neurologic complication of Lyme disease that can cause sudden hearing loss, which can in some cases be bilateral.
Case Report:
A 61-year-old woman consulted for bilateral sudden hearing loss with headache and earache, following an episode of fever. Interview found a skin lesion suggestive of migratory erythema, which had developed 3months previously after a walk in a German forest and had not initially been treated. Examination revealed severe sensorineural hearing loss and lymphocytic meningitis. Blood tests found long-standing IgM and IgG positive Borrelia burgdorferi infection with intrathecal synthesis of IgM and IgG antibodies. Corticosteroid treatment and ceftriaxone was initiated, and normalized hearing within 3weeks.
Discussion:
Hearing impairment in NB may involve inflammatory, immunologic or cytotoxic mechanisms affecting hair cells. Early treatment with corticosteroids and targeted antibiotics should be prescribed when NB is suspected, to optimize the chances of recovery. In endemic geographic areas, signs of Lyme disease should be screened for in case of sudden hearing loss.
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