Bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss caused by leptomeningeal carcinomatosis: case report and review.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis is a rare condition characterized by diffuse infiltration of the meninges after the metastasis of the solid tumors. Bilateral sudden hearing loss is a rare initial symptom. In this article, we report a 44-year-old male patient with bilateral sudden hearing loss and dizziness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed involvement of the bilateral vestibulocochlear nerves. Malignant cells were detected in cerebrospinal fluid cytology. To the best of our knowledge, leptomeningeal carcinomatosis due to duodenum adenocarcinoma has not been reported before in the English literature. Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis should be kept in mind in patients who have bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss.