The challenge of sensorineural hearing loss in rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are exposed to a variety of pharmacologic agents capable of causing sensorineural hearing loss. We describe such a patient who was eventually found to have an acoustic neuroma. The case illustrates the difficulty of diagnosing acoustic neuroma and the need for a high index of suspicion when unilateral hearing loss is detected. The evaluation of patients with sensorineural hearing loss is discussed.