Autoimmune inner ear disease was first defined by Dr. Brian McCabe in a landmark paper describing an autoimmune loss of hearing. The disease results in progressive sensorineural hearing loss that acts bilaterally and asymmetrically, and sometimes affects an individual's vestibular system.
AIED occurs when the body's immune system attacks cells in the inner ear that are mistaken for a virus or bacteria. AIED is a rare disease occuring in less than 1% of the 28 million Americans with a hearing loss.
Cyclophosphamide is a cytotoxic drug with adverse effects, including myelosuppression, hemorrhagic cystitis, infertility, and increased risk of malignancy. Other cytotoxic agents are used to treat immune-mediated inner ear disease, including methotrexate and azathioprine (Imuran).
Ménière's disease (idiopathic endolymphatic hydrops) is a rare inner ear disorder. It affects your sense of balance and hearing. Left untreated, Ménière's disease symptoms get worse over time and may cause permanent hearing loss and ongoing balance problems.
Tinnitus causes
One cause of tinnitus in people with lupus is autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED). In AIED, the body's immune system attacks the inner ear. This results in damage that can cause tinnitus. While it is possible to have AIED on its own, 15 to 30 percent of those with AIED have other autoimmune disorders.
Conclusions: A diagnostic test panel for autoimmune inner ear disease should include an ESR and the Western blot for hsp70. More specific laboratory testing for systemic disease is warranted when the ESR is elevated.
First sign of disease – Vertigo and other vestibular/auditory system symptoms may be the first sign of autoimmune disease; sometimes there aren't other autoimmune symptoms yet.
MRI scans use a magnetic field and radio waves to create computerized, three-dimensional images of the ear and the nerve that carries signals from the inner ear to the brain. An MRI scan may reveal a buildup of fluid or inflammation in the inner ear or a growth on the nerve.
Conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are linked to hearing loss and tinnitus. Did you know hearing loss can be related to an underlying condition—not simply age or noise exposure? When this happens, the condition is often an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or lupus.
Typically, patients are given a therapeutic trial of oral prednisone, which is administered for 30 days, and hearing is reassessed. If there is a steroid response, patients are slowly tapered off of the corticosteroid. Each month, hearing is tested to confirm stability or improvement before further lowering the dose.
Diagnosis. Blood tests to help confirm or rule out an underlying autoimmune disorder (ANA, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, human leukocyte antigens, C-reactive protein). Other blood tests may include anti-cochlear antibody test, lymphocyte transformation assay, Lyme titer.
No cure exists for Meniere's disease. Some treatments can help lessen how bad vertigo attacks are and how long they last. But there are no treatments for permanent hearing loss. Your health care provider may be able to suggest treatments that prevent your hearing loss from getting worse.
What is Cogan's syndrome? Cogan's syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease that primarily affects the eyes and inner ears, but can also cause inflammation of the blood vessels—a condition known as vasculitis.
Most inner ear infections are due to a virus, such as influenza, herpes zoster oticus or Epstein-Barr. Less commonly, inner ear infections are the result of bacteria.
Outlook (Prognosis) It takes time for labyrinthitis symptoms to go away completely. Severe symptoms usually go away within a week. Most people are completely better within 2 to 3 months.
Saltwater is known as an effective way to reduce inflammation. And saltwater could help an ear infection as well – just don't put the salt water directly in your ear. Instead, add one teaspoon salt to one cup of warm water and gargle it for a couple minutes.
AIED is a rare disease occurring in less than one percent of the 28 million Americans with a hearing loss.
Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare disease that may cause inflammation of cartilage throughout the body, particularly in the ears, nose, joints, eyes and throat. Flares of this disease come and go. The severity of the flares as well as how often they occur will vary from person to person.
These blood flow changes can cause tinnitus or make tinnitus more noticeable. Other chronic conditions. Conditions including diabetes, thyroid problems, migraines, anemia, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus have all been associated with tinnitus.
A way to think about this is that while tinnitus may seem to occur in your ear, the phantom sounds are instead generated by your brain, in an area called the auditory cortex. Other evidence shows that abnormal interactions between the auditory cortex and other neural circuits may play a role in tinnitus.
Some of the psychological disorders associated with tinnitus are anxiety, depressive disorders, hysteria, insomnia, anger, fear and despair. Researchers have found associations between tinnitus and anxiety disorders (Shargorodsky et al., 2010) and depression (Krog et al., 2010).