Inner Ear Involvement in Behcet's Disease

Abstract

Ten of 16 patients with Behçet's disease complained of hearing disturbances (62%), and six of them had vertigo (37%). Detailed audiologic and vestibular examinations revealed both cochlear and vestibular abnormalities in those patients. The labyrinth involvement may be ascribed to vasculitis, which is the basic pathologic lesion in Behçet's disease. This inner ear involvement is a late complication of this disease, appearing almost a decade after the initial manifestations.