Tinnitus and Mild Hearing Loss From a Kiss – Cureus

Hearing loss is a common problem that everyone faces at some point in their life. There are three main types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural, and mixed. Conductive hearing loss occurs when an external sound is not able to gain access to the inner ear because of some type of obstruction, e.g., cerumen in the auditory canal and fluid in the middle ear. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is due to damage to the inner ear, which affects the nerve conduction pathway from the inner ear to the brain. Mixed hearing loss is a combination of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is one of the most common types of hearing loss. A kiss on an external auditory canal can create a negative pressure that can affect the bones in the inner ear, therefore causing tinnitus and hearing loss. This case report will discuss sensorineural hearing loss (or sudden sensory neural hearing loss (SSNHL)) caused by an innocent kiss on the patient’s ear.

Introduction

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is basically of two types: acquired and congenital. A congenital SNHL is usually genetic, and patients are born with this hearing loss. In some cases, prematurity and infections during pregnancy can be passed from mother to child and cause congenital hearing loss. An acquired SNHL is defined as a hearing loss later in life. Common causes of acquired SNHL include aging, noise, trauma, tumors, and medications. Usually, an acquired SNHL occurs gradually and later in life. Still, in some cases, patients develop sudden acquired SNHL or sudden sensory neural hearing loss (SSNHL), which causes deafness in the unilateral ear, e.g., trauma or an innocent loving kiss [1,2].

Case Presentation

The patient is a 50-year-old female with a past medical history of only hypertension controlled on lisinopril 20 mg daily who presented to the hospital with a chief complaint of severe tinnitus and hearing loss in her right ear. The patient stated that she and her husband were watching a movie at home when her husband suddenly kissed her on the right ear. She stated that suddenly after the kiss, she had an almost complete hearing loss in the right ear along with severe tinnitus and nausea. The patient stated that this happened a few hours ago at home, and her tinnitus and hearing loss do not seem to be getting any better, so she decided to come to the hospital. The patient, in general, is healthy besides her hypertension, which is very well controlled on lisinopril 20 mg daily. She stated that she had a normal hearing before this episode. The patient has never worn any hearing aid. She has never had any significant ear infections in the past. She denied neurological symptoms such as headache, …….

Source: https://www.cureus.com/articles/95177-tinnitus-and-mild-hearing-loss-from-a-kiss