The natural history of pelvic organ prolapse is most often one of very minimal change in subjects who decline intervention (pessary or surgery) and choose observation.
Background
Sudden hearing loss, or progressive hearing loss occurring over months to years, are well-established presentations. However, little is described in the medical literature on how to approach patients presenting with a rapidly progressive hearing loss occurring over weeks. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of patients presenting with rapidly progressive hearing loss.
Methods
A case of rapidly progressive hearing loss occurring over 12 weeks is presented. A PubMed literature review was performed to determine the evidence-based differential diagnoses for rapidly progressive hearing loss.
Results
Fifteen causes were identified for rapidly progressive hearing loss: intracranial aetiologies (meningioma, lymphoma, metastatic deposit, cavernous angioma, meningitis, superficial siderosis); paraneoplastic syndrome (small cell lung carcinoma, thymoma); inflammatory or autoimmune disorders (autoimmune inner-ear disease, sarcoidosis, vasculitis, Sjögren's syndrome); infective disorders (syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus); and medication-induced causes.
Conclusion
Rapidly progressive hearing loss should be considered a ‘red flag’ symptom that warrants urgent action. Most causes are systemic or sinister in nature, and the patient's hearing loss can potentially be reversed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.