Temporal Bone Findings in a Case of Sudden Deafness and Relapsing Poychondritis

Abstract

Light microscopic examination was made of the right temporal bone from a 57-year-old female who developed sudden total hearing loss in both ears I year before death. The patient had suffered from relapsing poly-chondritis for 1 1/2 years prior to death. Pathological changes were compatible with known viral endolymphatic laby-rinthitis. Slight ossification and fibrous tissue proliferation in the penlymphatic space seem to have been caused by a spread of infection from the middle ear. Susceptibility to viral infection in the labyrinth in patients with a long-devastating illness is discussed.