Rapidly progressive hearing loss and/or dizziness caused by antibodies attacking the inner ear, usually occurring suddenly and beginning in one ear before spreading to both. Hearing decline over the course of a few months is often accompanied by tinnitus. Irreversible hearing loss may be prevented if caught early enough but AIED can be difficult to diagnose.
Dizziness, tinnitus, hearing loss, ear fullness, fever, malaise, fatigue, vertigo, and difficulty with recognizing words in conversation.
Tinnitus, rheumatoid arthritis, Cogan’s syndrome, relapsing polychondritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Wegener’s granulomatosis, polyarteritis nodosa, Sjogren’s syndrome, and Lyme disease.
Very few risk factors are known about AIED. Middle-aged females tend to be the most affected group and having other autoimmune conditions increases risk.
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. (2020, April). Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease. ENT Health. https://www.enthealth.org/conditions/autoimmune-inner-ear-disease/.
Bell-Lehmkuhler, B. (2006, February). Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/Articles/Autoimmune-Inner-Ear-Disease/.
Hayback, P. J. (2021, May 21). Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease. VeDA. https://vestibular.org/article/diagnosis-treatment/types-of-vestibular-disorders/autoimmune-inner-ear-disease/.
