Sudden hearing loss after an explosion

Abstract

An 18-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of bilateral hearing loss after a home-made firework exploded near the right side of his scalp. The hearing loss was associated with tinnitus. Examination revealed an area of skin loss on the right pinna. There was mild bleeding from the right pinna and scalp at the mastoid region, which spontaneously resolved. An otoscopic examination is shown in Figure 1.

Keywords

• hearing loss
• sensorineural
• explosion