[State of the organ of hearing and equilibrium in acute carbon monoxide poisoning].

The examinations covered 50 patients (28 females and 24 males), aged 30.1 (+/- 12.1) hospitalized for accidental and suicidal acute CO poisoning. 17 patients were exposed for 50 minutes to 2--3 hr and 9 patients for 6 hr. The remaining patients failed to establish for how long they had had contact with the poison. All the patients underwent tonal threshold and suprathreshold audiometric examinations and electronystagmographic examination at rest following kinetic and optokinetic stimulation. 21 (42%) patients developed bilateral receptive hearing impairment of various degree, mostly (80%) extracochlear impairment. 3 cases (6%) were close to deafness. 43 patients (86%) had vestibular organ impaired, as shown by idiopathic nystagmus in 7 persons (14%), nystagmoidal movements and square waves in 24 persons (48%), asymmetry in reaction in 30 patients (60%), areflection in 2 patients (4%) and abnormal optokinesis in 20 patients (40%).