Systematic review of the evidence for the etiology of adult sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the evidence for different etiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) identified by clinical diagnostic tests in the adult population.

Study Design: Systematic literature review.

Methods: Review of MEDLINE (1950-October 2009), EMBASE (1980-October 2009), and EBM Review databases in addition to manual reference search of identified papers.

A systematic review of pediatric sensorineural hearing loss in congenital syphilis.

Introduction: Congenital syphilis is a known cause of progressive sensorineural hearing loss. The prevalence of syphilitic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in childhood is not clearly defined.

Objective: To determine the frequency and characteristics of pediatric SNHL following intrauterine infection with or exposure to Treponema pallidum in order to develop evidence-based guidelines for audiologic monitoring.

A systematic review of neonatal toxoplasmosis exposure and sensorineural hearing loss.

Introduction: The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 2007 Position Statement includes in utero toxoplasmosis infection as a risk indicator for delayed-onset or progressive sensorineural hearing loss. It is recommended that children with congenital toxoplasmosis infection undergo audiologic monitoring to identify congenital and delayed-onset sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss and to develop evidence-based guidelines for audiologic monitoring of children born with congenital toxoplasmosis infection.

Natural history of hearing loss in children with enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome.

Objective: To determine the natural history of hearing loss in children with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) syndrome.

Design: (1) Retrospective cohort study and (2) systematic literature review.

Setting: Tertiary pediatric centre.

A systematic review of the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in neonates exposed to Herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Objective: To develop evidence-based guidelines for appropriate audiological monitoring of children born following exposure to or infection with Herpes simplex virus (HSV) for development of immediate or delayed-onset of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Data Sources: A Medline search of the 1966-July 2007 database was supplemented by search of the additional database Embase (1980-July 2007). Manual search was conducted of references of identified papers and book chapters.