Vol.99 No.4 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 99 No. 4 April 2006
Cochlear Implantation in a Patient with Takayasu's Arteritis
Mitsuhiro Aoki, Yoichi Yokota, Kenichi Ando,
Masayuki Asai, Keisuke Mizuta and Yatsuji Ito
(Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine)
Patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) rarely suffer sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), which can be comparatively restored by corticosteroid therapy. We report a 65-year-old woman with aortitis with arch vessel involvement and bilateral severe SNHL. Although her profound deafness failed to improve with corticosteroids, cochlear implantation improved her hearing loss without postoperative problems. Her postoperative open-set syllable recognition without lip reading after cochlear implantation was 90％. When medical treatment fails to improve bilateral severe hearing loss without benefit from hearing aids in TA patients, cochlear implantation is indicated.
Key words : cochlear implantation, Takayasu's arteritis, sensorineural hearing loss