Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Sudden idiopathic deafness is often a diagnosis of elimination. It is defined by an isolated sensorineural hearing loss (sensorineural deafness) unilateral and without obvious etiology but a vascular hypothesis is plausible. We report in this context a case of unilateral sudden hearing loss revealing type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Observation: This is a 40-year-old man, sedentary, with no particular pathological history, a 20-pack/year smoker and occasional alcoholic, who presented with sudden deafness justifying his hospitalization in an otorhinolaryngology department. The clinical examination revealed a blood pressure of 130/80 mmHg, a body mass index of 30Kg/m², and android obesity. The examination included otoscopy, tinnitus, neurological examination and audiometric examination confirming sensorineural hearing loss. The diagnosis of SBI was made in the face of a negative etiological investigation and he was treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The biological workup revealed high blood glucose levels at 15.12 mmol/l, Hb1Ac at 9.3%, and hyperTriglyceridemia at 3.6 mmol/l. The diagnosis of T2DM was established and he was treated with a dual therapy (Metformin and Glimeperide) associated with hygienic-dietary rules. ConclusionSudden onset deafness is a medical emergency requiring a rapid, global and adapted management of the affected patients. It is an infrequent pathology, unknown in the physiopathology is not well elucidated and which can be explained by a vascular or metabolic mechanism as we report this clinical case.