| On one end, organ specific responses with organ | | | | The symptoms of autoimmune inner ear disease are |
| specific autoantibodies and T cells produce tissue | | | | abrupt hearing departure in one ear progressing |
| alteration. | | | | quickly to the second ear. The hearing departure can |
| Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) is an incendiary | | | | advance over weeks or months. Vestibular role may |
| circumstance of the inner ear. The reason of AIED is | | | | be lost gradually so that intense symptoms do not |
| mostly assumed to be related to either antibodies or | | | | happen, but patients may produce ataxia and |
| exempt cells that induce harm to the inner ear. There | | | | unsteadiness more evident in dark with long-term, |
| is evidence that genetically controlled aspects of the | | | | multilateral vestibular hypofunction. More experience |
| immune system may increase or otherwise be | | | | with the disease has revealed this to be a rare |
| associated with increased susceptibility to common | | | | finding and it is not considered a routine occurrence in |
| hearing disorders such as menieres disease. It seems | | | | the syndrome. Outer Ear symptoms that may be |
| that allergies can cause or at least are associated | | | | attributed to allergy include chronic itching or frequent |
| with autoimmune inner ear disease. Observation | | | | infections of the ear canal. Meniere’s disease in |
| suggests there is a genetic component as | | | | one or both ears may sometimes be aggravated by |
| autoimmune diseases seem to cluster in families. | | | | allergies. Diagnosis of autoimmune inner ear disease is |
| Interestingly, this trait may show up as several | | | | difficult and is often mistaken for otitis media until the |
| different autoimmune diseases within the same | | | | patient develops a loss in the second ear. |
| family. However, this genetic predisposition alone | | | | There are several protocols for treatment of |
| does not cause autoimmune diseases to develop. | | | | autoimmune inner ear disease. Treatment goals in |
| Other factors need to be present as well in order to | | | | autoimmune inner ear disease include improving |
| initiate the disease process. | | | | speech thresholds to levels treatable with hearing aids |
| Autoimmune inner ear disease is a rare disease | | | | in severely affected patients and recovery of hearing |
| occurring in less than one percent of the 28 million | | | | to near normal levels in those with mild to moderate |
| Americans with a hearing loss. Both allergy and | | | | losses. Most patients with autoimmune inner ear |
| traditional autoimmune disease such as ankylosing | | | | disease respond to the initial treatment of steroids, |
| spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjoegren's | | | | prednisone, and methotrexate, a chemotherapy |
| syndrome, cogan's disease, ulcerative colitis, | | | | agent. Some patients may benefit from the use of |
| wegener's granulomatosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and | | | | hearing aids. In persons with response to steroids, in |
| scleroderma can cause or be associated with AIED. | | | | most cases a chemotherapy type of medication such |
| The condition has been suggested to be more | | | | as cytoxan or will be used over the long term. The |
| common in female patients who may or may not | | | | medicine can be put right into the inner ear under |
| have concomitant systemic autoimmune disease than | | | | local anesthesia, or through the use of tiny ear tubes |
| in male patients. Autoimmunity occurs with loss of | | | | put in place surgically. Not all people respond to |
| homeostatic control in the immune system. Host | | | | steroid therapy the same way. Treatment in some |
| tissues become recognized as foreign and induce | | | | people results in better hearing, or better |
| damaging vasculitis and fibrosis. Veldman described a | | | | discrimination or both. |
| continuum of autoimmunity. | | | | |