Facial nerve paralysis is a common otolaryngological diagnosis. Recurrent unilateral peripheral facial palsy is found in about 7 per cent of the cases. Simultaneous bilateral facial palsy is relatively uncommon and occurs in 0.3–2.0 per cent of cases of facial palsy. Recurrent. simultaneous, bilateral, idiopathic facial palsy to the best of our knowledge has never been reported. A case of recurrent, simultaneous, bilateral, idiopathic facial palsy is presented. No evidence of systemic or local disease was found in both attacks of peripheral facial palsies. The association with states of stress is the only common finding between the two attacks.
To determine the otological outcome in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) in their only hearing ear.Design: Retrospective medical chart review study.Setting: Tertiary care hospital.Patients: Forty-five consecutive patients older than 18 years with sudden sensorineural hearing loss during a 10 year period (1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995), 9 of whom had ISSHL in their only hearing ear.Intervention: Daily audiometric tests, oral prednisolone (full available dose), and bed rest for at least a week.Main Outcome Measure: The audiometric result 7 to 10 days following the start of treatment was used as the treatment outcome.Results: Demographic characteristics were not significantly different between patients with ISSHL whose contralateral ear is deaf and those whose contralateral ear hears well. A tendency to seek help sooner (2.8 ± 1.4 vs 7.1 ± 5.2 days [mean ± SD], respectively) was noted. The mean ± SD improvement of hearing in the 3 more affected frequencies was 13 ± 13.4 dB for the investigated group compared with 9±8.7dB for the rest of the patients (not statistically significant). Of the 9 patients who previously had sensorineural hearing loss in the opposite ear, 5 showed end results of speech reception thresholds of 35 dB or better, as did 13 of the 36 patients in the other group.
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.