[Bilateral simultaneous sudden deafness--a report of five cases].

Five cases of bilateral simultaneous sudden deafness were reported. Two patients were male and three patients were female. The age of the patients ranged from five to 54 years. All the five cases were profoundly deaf on both sides. The elevation of the mumps virus antibody titer was found in the three cases out of four in those examined. The recovery pattern of hearing was seen symmetrically on both sides in four cases. Although complete recovery of hearing was obtained in one case and remarkable improvement was observed in two cases bilaterally, no improvement was seen in one case on either side. The last case showed remarkable improvement of hearing on one side with only a slight recovery on the other. Although the prognosis of the five cases of bilateral simultaneous sudden deafness was found comparable to that of the unilateral case by other investigators, the recovery was slower and the prognosis was less favorable in cases with the elevation of mumps antibody titer.