Otologic involvement in late syphilis

In 38 patients with cochleovestibular dysfunction and no cause other than syphilis (congenital in 15, acquired in 23), there was no characteristic pattern to the dysfunction. Sensorineural hearing loss was present in all (bilateral in 82%, unilateral in 18%), and 42% had episodic rotatory vertigo. Only 24% had the classic triad of symptoms of endolymphatic hydrops. The impairment was less in the first 5 years of hearing loss than in subsequent intervals; the average impairments were comparable in the second through fifth decades.