Otosyphilis: A rare cause of acute bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a HIV-negative patient

Abstract

Bilateral acute hearing loss is rare, and the aetiology is poorly defined. Less common treatable pathologies such as otosyphilis must be part of the differential diagnosis and should be actively excluded. We present a case of a 23-year-old woman who developed acute bilateral hearing loss due to otosyphilis, confirmed on audiometry and laboratory tests. In this article, the CT, MRI and clinical findings are presented and discussed.

Keywords

• otosyphilis
• sensorineural
• computed tomography
• magnetic resonance imaging
• audiology
• human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)