Complications
Additional episodes of vertigo often signal the development of delayed endolymphatic hydrops. Typically occurs months to years after the labyrinthitis episode. Patients experience room-spinning vertigo, fluctuating hearing, fullness, or tinnitus.
Primarily occurs in patients with suppurative labyrinthitis after meningitis or otitis media, and this is not expected in vestibular neuritis.
Cochlear ossification (labyrinthitis ossificans) has significant implications with respect to the ability to achieve successful placement of a cochlear implant in the affected ear.[20][22][103][104][105]
Patients with mild to severe hearing loss may benefit from amplification with a hearing aid provided their speech discrimination is in a serviceable range.
In patients with profound hearing loss a contralateral routing of signals (CROS) hearing aid, Transear hearing aid, or bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) helps with the head-shadow effect.[106]
Deafness only occurs after bilateral labyrinthitis or if the nonaffected ear had previous significant hearing loss.
Bilateral labyrinthitis is more common after bacterial meningitis.
Both labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis may be associated with permanent vestibular hypofunction. Bilateral vestibular hypofunction can be a devastating condition and is most commonly associated with bilateral labyrinthitis secondary to bacterial meningitis.
Either unilateral or bilateral vestibular hypofunction may require the patient to use a cane or walker if other balance risk factors are present.
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