Etiología viral de la hipoacusia sensorioneural súbita: ？Mito o realidad?

introduction: sudden sensorineural hearing loss (sshl) is a rare cause of hearing loss. most are considered idiopathic and only 10-15% can discover an etiologic factor. four pathophysiological theories have been proposed: viral, vascular, immunological and rupture of membranes. the viral etiology is controversial and there are reports with varying results. aim: to investigate the viral etiology as a cause of hsns and evaluate their presence in relation to the prognosis of hearing recovery. material and method: descriptive, observational study of 24 months, patients with symptoms and exams compatible sshl. before treatment, nasopharyngeal aspirate was taken and then analyzed using microarray. results: were enrolled 15 patients. in 9 was detected a respiratory syncytial virus (rsv) and four of them simultaneously also other viruses (bocavirus, herpes vi and vii). there were no cases of herpes virus i and ii. there were no evidence differences in auditory development in the group with samples positive for virus. conclusions: the viral etiology of sshl remains controversial. 60% of patients tested were positive, however, there was no herpes virus i or ii in the samples. rsv appears as a new agent involved, even when was out of regular season.