Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Setting of Acute Methamphetamine Overdose.
Jeremy S ReichHarleen K SethiRobert T SataloffPublished in: Ear, nose, & throat journal (2021)
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 kidney 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.
Keyphrases
- hearing loss
- liver failure
- hepatitis b virus
- blood flow
- acute kidney injury
- high dose
- drug induced
- respiratory failure
- systematic review
- early onset
- low dose
- cardiac surgery
- case report
- aortic dissection
- randomized controlled trial
- intellectual disability
- emergency department
- intensive care unit
- high intensity
- physical activity
- mechanical ventilation
- depressive symptoms
- autism spectrum disorder
- stem cell transplantation
- newly diagnosed
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- study protocol