Meningeal carcinomatosis manifested as bilateral progressive sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: Meningeal carcinomatosis is defined as the diffuse infiltration of the leptomeninges and subarachnoid space by malignant cells metastasizing from systemic cancer. The authors describe a rare case of meningeal carcinomatosis initially appearing as bilateral progressive sensorineural hearing loss.

Patient: A 57-year-old man with lung cancer was referred to the authors' clinic because of progressive hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness, and blurred vision for 1 month.

Results: Magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal leptomeningeal enhancement. Meningeal carcinomatosis was diagnosed by the detection of malignant cells in the cerebrospinal fluid after lumbar puncture. The patient died 1 year after diagnosis.

Conclusions: Meningeal carcinomatosis must be considered in the differential diagnosis in cancer patients with bilateral progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is a useful complementary diagnostic tool before lumbar puncture.