Sudden hearing loss in chronic hepatitis C patient suffering from Turner syndrome, treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin

Sudden hearing loss is a very rare complication of interferon-alpha treatment. At this time, hearing loss in patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin has only been described in two reports. We present a case of a 27-year-old patient who was diagnosed with Turner syndrome, treated for hepatitis C with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, and suffered from hearing loss during the 10th week of treatment. Audiometric examination revealed a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Auditory brainstem response (ABR) measures confirmed the diagnosis. We decided to comply with the patient's request to continue therapy, which only led to slight further deterioration of the patient's hearing ability. However, 18 months after the end of therapy a follow-up audiometric examination disclosed a bilateral SNHL.