✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦
No change to audiology practice is warranted; however, audiologists should be aware of spinal anesthesia as a potential cause of low-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus when taking patient history from postpartum patients.
✦ Why It Matters ✦
Spinal anesthesia is widely used in obstetric procedures, and this case highlights an under-recognized potential for transient or persistent low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss that audiologists may encounter in postpartum patients.
✦ Key Points ✦
- 01Bilateral low-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus occurred following spinal anesthesia in a cesarean section patient.
- 02Mechanism is thought to involve perilymph pressure changes secondary to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
- 03Published in HNO, a German-language otorhinolaryngology journal.
- 04Case report design limits generalizability; incidence remains unclear.
- 05Raises awareness for audiologists taking case histories in postpartum patients with new hearing symptoms.
✦ Claims & Evidence ✦
ClaimEvidenceSupport
Spinal anesthesia during cesarean section can cause bilateral low-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus.
studypartially supported✦ Research metadata ✦
- PMID
- 42313133
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00106-026-01781-x.
- Journal
- HNO
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patient(s) experiencing hearing loss and tinnitus following spinal anesthesia during cesarean section
- Intervention
- Spinal anesthesia administered during cesarean section
Primary outcomes
Onset and characteristics of bilateral low-frequency hearing loss; Presence and severity of tinnitus