Labyrinthine involvement in Behçet's syndrome

Abstract

We report the neuro-otological findings in 26 consecutive patients with definite and probable Behçet's syndrome unselected for audiovestibular complaints. Auditory and/or vestibular abnormalities were found in 19 (73 per cent) patients, with auditory involvement in 14 (54 per cent) and vestibular in 10 (38.5 per cent) of patients. Peripheral involvement was more common than central involvement for both auditory and vestibular lesions. Bilateral cochlear hearing impairment was the most common audiological finding, whereas unilateral peripheral dysfunction was the prevailing vestibular abnormality. No correlation has been found between audiovestibular lesions and other organ lesions, disease duration or age or sex of the patients. Moreover, there was a lack of interdependence between cochlear and vestibular labyrinthine lesions. We conclude that a full neuro-otological assessment in patients under investigation for Behçet's syndrome may reveal labyrinth involvement in a substantial proportion of patients. In view of the absence of a specific diagnostic test for Behçet's syndrome, audiovestibular lesions may provide further diagnostic support for this disorder.