Sudden Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss Following Speedballing

Abstract

Background: Hearing loss is an infrequently-reported consequence of recreational drug abuse. Although there are sporadic reports of hearing loss from heroin and cocaine ingested separately, there are no reports of hearing loss resulting from the combination of both drugs ingested simultaneously in the form of speedballing. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to document a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with an episode of speedballing. Research Design: Case Report Data Collection And Analysis: The subject of this report was a 40-year-old man with a 20-year history of substance abuse. Data collected included a case history, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry and acoustic reflexes, and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. Results: The audiologic evaluation indicated a mild to moderate, relatively flat, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss that was worse in the right ear. Conclusions: A bilateral sensorineural hearing loss involving both cochlear and neural pathology may be a rare complication of cocaine, heroin, or the combination of the two drugs.