# Exploring the Impact of Auditory Hallucinations on Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Adulthood: A Case Report

## TL;DR

This case report explores a possible link between auditory hallucinations and sudden hearing loss in a woman with schizophrenia.

## Contribution

The study proposes a potential bidirectional relationship between auditory hallucinations and sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

## Key findings

- A 42-year-old woman with a history of auditory hallucinations developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss at age 40.
- The patient had no known risk factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss, suggesting a possible link to her auditory hallucinations.
- The case highlights the need for further research into how auditory hallucinations may impact hearing and brain function.

## Abstract

Auditory hallucinations are sounds that patients perceive as coming from outside of their body. Though the mechanism causing auditory hallucinations is not entirely understood, there is a significant amount of evidence suggesting that auditory hallucinations leave lasting impacts on the brain in the same regions that are involved in auditory processing. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a poorly understood condition in which patients lose their hearing typically in the fifth decade of life. Here we present a case of a 42-year-old female with a history of schizophrenia with auditory hallucinations who experienced SSNHL at age 40. As the patient had no known risk factors for SSNHL, we propose that this patient’s SSNHL is linked to her history of auditory hallucinations. Through the presentation of this case, we hope to explore the pathogenesis of auditory hallucinations and investigate a potentially bidirectional association between auditory hallucinations and SSNHL. This study calls for further investigation into the impacts of auditory hallucinations on the brain, possible etiologies of SSNHL, and the possibility that auditory hallucinations serve as a risk factor for SSNHL.