Three Cases of Acute Sensorineural Hearing Loss Due to Exposure to Loud Rock and Roll Music

Abstract

Three male patients were found to have acute sensorineural hearing loss after exposure to rock and roll music. They were about 30 years old and complained of hearing impairment with tinnitus. Two patients had unilateral, severe, flat-type hearing impairment which did not improve, and one patient had bilateral, C5 dip type, mild hearing impairment which later improved. The clinical features of this disease were studied in 12 patients, including the three mentioned above. Most of the patients with hearing impairment and tinnitus were men in the third and fourth decades. They could be divided into two groups, one with unilateral, flat-type severe hearing impairment and a poor prognosis, and the other with bilateral G5 dip or C5C6 dip type, mild hearing impairment with a good prognosis. As for the cause, it is supposed that when people who, for some reason or other, have become highly susceptible to sound injury are exposed to loud noises such as sounds at rock concerts or in discotheques, the damage occurs. © 1984, The Society of Practical Otolaryngology. All rights reserved.