Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T04:54:29.584Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reversible sensorineural hearing loss in Lyme disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

S. J. Quinn ,
B. J. Boucher  and
J. B. Booth
S. J. Quinn
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK.
B. J. Boucher
Affiliation:
Academic Medical Unit, The London Hospital Medical College, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK.
J. B. Booth*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Mr J. B. Booth, ENT Department, Royal London Hospital, London El 1BB.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We report a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss of two years duration which appears to have been due to late Borrelia burgdorferi infection. The 39-year-old woman presented with bilateral deafness and multiple other neurological complaints some six months after developing a ‘target’ lesion on the lower leg after walking in the New Forest. Serology for Borrelia burgdorferi became positive and the patient made a complete recovery from both her deafness and her other neurological problems after a five-week course of oral antibiotic therapy.

Keywords

Hearing loss, sensorineuralLyme disease
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 111 , Issue 6 , June 1997 , pp. 562 - 564
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asbrink, E., Olsson, I., Hovmark, A., Carlsson, B. (1985) Tick-borne spirochaetes as a cause of facial palsy. Clinical Otolaryngology 10: 279–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtin, S. M., Pennington, T. H. (1995) The diagnosis of Lyme disease. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 88: 248–250.Google ScholarPubMed
Hanner, P., Rosenhall, U., Edstrom, S., Kaijser, B. (1989) Hearing impairment in patients with antibody production against Borrelia burgdorferi antigen. Lancet (i): 13–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaiser, R. (1995) Intrathecal immune response in patients with neuroborreliosis: specificity of antibodies for neuronal proteins. Journal of Neurology 242: 319–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, L. C., England, D. M., DuChateau, B. K., Glowacki, N. J., Schell, R. F. (1995) Borrelia burgdorferi-specific T lymphocytes induce severe destructive Lyme arthritis. Infection and Immunity 63: 1400–1408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logigian, F. L., Kaplan, R. F., Steere, A. C. (1990) Chronic neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease. New England Journal of Medicine 323: 1438–1444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moscatello, A. L., Worden, D. L., Nadelman, R. B., Wormser, G., Lucente, F. (1991) Otolaryngologic aspects of Lyme disease. Laryngoscope 101: 592–595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muhlemann, M. F., Wright, D. J. M. (1987) Emerging pattern of Lyme disease in the United Kingdom and Irish Republic. Lancet (i): 260–262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Connell, S. (1995) Lyme disease in the United Kingdom. British Medical Journal 310: 303–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pachner, A. R., Delaney, F., O'Neill, T., Major, E. (1995) Inoculation of nonhuman primates with the N40 strain of Borrelia burgdorferi leads to a model of Lyme neuroborreliosis faithful to the human disease. Neurology 45: 165–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfister, H. W., Wilske, B., Weber, K. (1994) Lyme borreliosis: basic science and clinical aspects. Lancet 343: 1013–1016.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sigal, L. H. (1993) Cross-reactivity between Borrelia burdorferi flagellin and a human axonal 64 000 molecular weight protein. Journal of Infectious Diseases 167: 1372–1378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steere, A. C., Malawista, S. E., Snydman, D. R., Shope, R. E., Andiman, W. A., Ross, M. R., Steele, F. M. (1977) Lyme arthritis: an epidemic of oligoarticular arthritis in children and adults in three Connecticut communities. Arthritis and Rheumatism 20 7–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed