Sudden hearing loss and unstable angina pectoris

Acute sudden sensorineural hearing loss has been extensively described in the literature and is a well recognized clinical entity. The exact etiology for this entity has been difficult to ascertain. Multiple etiologies have been promoted including infectious agents, vascular abnormalities, acoustic trauma, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune syndromes. In some cases, neoplasms such as acoustic neurinoma can be identified. On occasion, ototoxic medications are present in the history. Moulonguet and Gougelot have associated mitral valve prolapse, microemboli, transient hemiparesis and sudden hearing loss. This report describes a patient who had sudden sensorineural hearing loss in conjunction with unstable angina pectoris, in whom coronary bypass surgery appeared to have resulted in acute and significant hearing improvement and stabilization.