Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Setting of Acute Methamphetamine Overdose

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Setting of Acute Methamphetamine Overdose Via ear nose throat Ear Nose Throat J. 2021 Dec 29:1455613211069353. doi: 10.1177/01455613211069353. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Substance abuse is a rare but known cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). We report a case of acute SNHL in a 28-year-old man following an overdose of methamphetamine and incidental ingestion of fentanyl. On initial encounter, he had moderate-to-severe hearing loss in the right ear and severe-to-profound hearing loss in the left ear in addition to acute kidn ey injury, liver failure, and lactic acidosis. The patient was treated with a two-week course of high-dose steroids and expressed a subjective improvement in hearing. This case highlights the importance of auditory testing following a drug overdose and is one of the only documented cases of hearing loss following methamphetamine use in recent years. There is a paucity of literature regarding the mechanism causing acute SNHL secondary to methamphetamines. Proposed etiologies include neurotransmitter depletion or reduced cochlear blood flow as possible causes of ototoxicity. PMID:34965172 | DOI:10.1177/01455613211069353 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.