Mitral valve prolapse and sudden deafness.

To examine the association between MVP and Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing loss (ISSNHL). 349 subjects, 86 with ISSNHL and 263 controls underwent a 2D-echocardiography. Patients with ISSNHL had higher rates of MVP (29.1% vs 2.7%, p<0.001), mitral leaflet thickening (15.1% vs 2.3%, p<0.001), mitral regurgitation (16.3% vs 6.5%, p=0.02) and left atrial enlargement (11.6% vs 3.8%, p=0.01). Our results support the hypothesis that MVP could be one of the etiological factors of ISSNHL.