Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Bilateral Sudden Irreversible Hearing Loss in a Case of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia: A Case Report

  • Clinical Report
  • Published:
Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and results in an overproduction of immature WBCs. The genetic mutation that causes CML is the BCR-ABL fusion gene. Adolescents are rarely affected. The case study aims to discuss a rare case of chronic myeloid leukemia causing bilateral hearing impairment, tinnitus, and vertigo. A 30-year-old female presented to the hospital in November, 2021, with sudden hearing impairment and other symptoms, leading to a CML diagnosis. Blood tests revealed hyperleukocytosis with marked neutrophilia, mild basophilia, and eosinophilia, and a BCR-ABL quantitation of 85%. Bone marrow aspiration showed granulocytic hyperplasia, mild left-shifted maturation, and less than 1% blasts. The patient was started with options including tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as Imatinib, which target the BCR-ABL fusion gene, reducing the number of leukemia cells and improving her white blood cell count. However, her deafness persisted, and she became dependent on hearing aids. CML presenting with hearing loss is rare, believed to be related to the infiltration of leukemic cells in the inner ear or microvascular complications. Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as Imatinib can improve hematologic parameters, but the effect on hearing loss is uncertaint.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

CML:

Chronic myeloid leukemia

TKIS:

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

PTA:

Pure tone audiometry

CNS:

Central nervous system

References

  1. Virchow R (1846) Weisses blut und milztumoren. Med Ztg 15:157

  2. Mughal TI, Goldman JM (2013) Chronic myeloid leukemia: a historical perspective. Chronic Myeloproliferative disorders. CRC Press, pp 13–28

  3. Hooke R (2003) Micrographia: or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses, with observations and inquiries thereupon. Courier Corporation

  4. Resende LS et al (2000) Sudden bilateral deafness from hyperleukocytosis in chronic myeloid leukemia. Acta Haematol 104(1):46–49

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Kantarjian HM et al (1993) Chronic myelogenous leukemia: a concise update

  6. Acar GÖ et al (2007) Unilateral sudden hearing loss as the first sign of chronic myeloid leukemia. Eur Archiv Oto-Rhino-Laryngol 264:1513–1516

  7. Cass ND, Gubbels SP, Portnuff CDF (2018) Sudden bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo as presenting symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia. Annal Otol Rhinol Laryngol 127(10):731–734

  8. DRUSS JG (1945) Aural manifestations of leukemia. Arch Otolaryngol 42(4):267–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Tsai C-C et al (2004) Sudden hearing loss as the initial manifestation of chronic myeloid leukemia in a child. Chang Gung Med J 27(8):629–633

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Naithani R et al (2005) Hearing loss in chronic myeloid leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 45(1):54–56

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Genden EM, Bahadori RS (1995) Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss as a first symptom of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 113(4):499–501

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Smith N et al (1991) Atypical Ph negative chronic myeloid leukaemia presenting as sudden profound deafness. J Clin Pathol 44(12):1033–1034

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Bance M (2007) Hearing and aging. CMAJ 176(7):925–927

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Cass ND, Gubbels SP, Portnuff CD (2018) Sudden bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo as presenting symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia. Annal Otol Rhinol Laryngol 127(10):731–734

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors like to thank all the co-authors and the medical staff for their cooperation and Jazan Hospital for their constant support throughout the study.

Funding

No funds, grants, or other support was received.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Adult Hematology, Prince Mohammed bin Nasser Hospital, 2034 King Abdul Aziz Rd, Jazan, 82943, Saudi Arabia

    Hafiz Malhan, Enas Dammag, Waiel Alkahiry, Gadallah Ali, Fahad Bahkali, Anas Alhakim & Mohammad Bakkar

Authors
  1. Hafiz Malhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Enas Dammag
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Waiel Alkahiry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gadallah Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fahad Bahkali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anas Alhakim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Mohammad Bakkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

H.M: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Supervision; Writing - original draft. E.D: Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Writing - original draft. W.A: Validation; Visualization; Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing. G.A: Conceptualization; Writing - original draft; Visualization. F.B; Formal analysis; Investigation; Writing. A.A: Project administration; Resources; Software. M.B: Conceptualization; Methodology; Formal analysis and investigation; Writing. All authors contributed to the study and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hafiz Malhan.

Ethics declarations

Financial or Non-financial Interests

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical Approval

IRB approval is not required for case reports by institutional policy.

Consent to Publish

All the authors agreed to the publication of this case report. The participant has consented to the submission of the case report to the journal.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Malhan, H., Dammag, E., Alkahiry, W. et al. Bilateral Sudden Irreversible Hearing Loss in a Case of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia: A Case Report. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 76, 2104–2107 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-023-04429-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-023-04429-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation