Sudden hearing loss as the initial monosymptom of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Hearing loss is an uncommon symptom in multiple sclerosis. We report two patients in whom unilateral sudden hearing loss was the first monosymptomatic manifestation of multiple sclerosis. We confirmed the initial central auditory dysfunction suggested by audiometric findings and brainstem auditory evoked potentials by MRI, which showed a unilateral pontine lesion in one patient and a lesion in the medulla oblongata in the other.