INTRODUCTION: The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic disease of the connective tissue, with unknown etiology, probably associated to multiple events. It is a multiple organs disease that affects mainly women. The inner ear can be damaged by several immunopathogenic mechanisms, and the most common symptom is a progressive sensorineural hearing loss, generally bilateral, with good response to immunossupression. AIM: The purpose of this article is to report three cases of women suffering from SLE and hearing loss and to establish a link between the autoimmune and the vascular mechanisms of the disease, also focusing attention on the ototoxicity due to chloroquine applied during the treatment of SLE. CONCLUSION: Sudden or fluctuant sensorineural hearing loss may affect patients with autoimmune disease, so it must always be taken into account when dealing with patients suffering from hearing loss without any apparent cause.
autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss; ototoxicity; systemic lupus erythematosus
