Cochlear implantation in neurobrucellosis: Two case reports

Abstract Brucellosis is one of the most frequent zoonotic diseases worldwide. Central nervous system (CNS) involvment has been reported among approximately 5% of patients. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has been considered as a popular clinical consequence of brucellosis and neurobrucellosis (NB). In this study, we present two cases of neurobrucellosis with bilateral SNHL who were succesfully managed by cochlear implantation (CI). case 1 was 52 year-old woman was admitted to another hospital 10 years ago with diagnosis of neurobrucellosis then she developed bilateral severe SNHL. There was no benefit of using hearing aid and she was found to be suitable for cochlear implantation. After the operation her audiological evaluation reflected aided Pure Tone Average (PTA) of 15 dB HL and Word recognition Score (WRS) in quiet (at 65 dB HL) was 80%. Case 2 A 48 year-old woman was admitted to our center and diagnosed as a case of neurobrucellosis. Two months later she had suffered from bilateral progressive hearing loss. Her hearing assessment showed bilateral profound SNHL and she used hearing aids but without benefit. After successful treatment of her illness, she was accepted for unilateral cochlear implant and underwent right CI. The most recent audiological evaluation reflected aided PTA of 27.5 dB HL. WRS in quiet (at 65 dB HL) was 84%.conclusion: cochlear implantation may be considered as good alternative for hearing rehabilitation in neurobrucellosis patients. Further research is warranted to build standard approach.