-Abstract-
Background and Objectives : Although there are a number of reports concerned with the role of immunity
in the sudden onset of progressive sensorineural hearing loss, there are only a few references dealing
with the involvement of immuneme-mediated mechanism in sudden deafness. This study was performed
to define the alteration of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in a group of patients with sudden
deafness. Materials and Methods : The study was carried out prior to the start of and after the steroid
therapy. Thirty two patients (18 men and 14 women : mean age, 43.19 years) were compared with 15
healthy control subjects (7 men and 8 women ; mean age, 44 years). Patients were divided into 2 groups
according to their responses to the steroid therapy. Results : A decreased number of both
CD4+ helper cells (38.44% vs 42.36% ; p<0.05) was observed in the patient group compared
with those in the control group . In the group of patients who showed good response to the steroid
therapy, there was a tendency toward normalization of the CD4+ (pretreatment, 34.41% ;
posttreatment, 43.91%) cell counts, with a slight decrease in the CD8+population
(pretreatment, 20.66% ; posttreatment, 19..16%). However. there was no signigicant increment in patients
with the poorer response when there was a increase in the CD4+ (pretreatment, 32,12% ;
posttreatment, 38,6%) cell counts after the steroid therapy. Conclusion : These results demonstrate that
there is significant abnormality in the subpopulations of lymphocytes in patients with sudden gearing loss,
suggesting the immune system as a possible etiopathogenic factor in this entity.
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