J Korean Neurol Assoc.  2019 Aug;37(3):288-291. 10.17340/jkna.2019.3.7.

Bilateral Hearing Loss in Wernicke Encephalopathy

• Bae H
• Park JY
• Cho HS
• Lim SH
• Ha SW

• KMID: 2454792
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17340/jkna.2019.3.7

Abstract

Wernicke encephalopathy is a syndrome caused by thiamine deficiency whose three typical symptoms are ophthalomoplegia, ataxia, and confusion. There are also rare reports of bilateral hearing loss, which can be caused by damage to the bilateral inferior colliculus or thalamic lesions, or by energy failure of the cochlea. This case suggests that thiamine should be administered based on the possibility of Wernicke encephalopathy occurring in malnourished or alcoholic patients with sudden bilateral hearing loss.

Keyword

Wernicke encephalopathy; Thiamine; Hearing loss; Bilateral

MeSH Terms

Alcoholics
Ataxia
Cochlea
Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss, Bilateral*
Humans
Inferior Colliculi
Thiamine
Thiamine Deficiency
Wernicke Encephalopathy*
Thiamine