Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

UNLABELLED Phosphodiesterase type 5 Inhibitors, such as sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil have been increasingly used today and some of the users have developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss. OBJECTIVE To present two patients with sudden deafness developed after an occasional use of the drug and review studies on the use of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and sudden hearing loss. METHOD Analytical study of two cases and review of the subject matter in the Pubmed/Medline and Bireme databases using the keywords: phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and sudden deafness and its correlates in the English language. RESULTS The patients analyzed are young without additional disorders, using phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, and after combination treatment for sudden hearing loss only one had hearing improvement. We found nine scientific studies and reviewed preclinical studies, clinical trials, prospective and cross-sectional investigations. CONCLUSION Increased occurrence in clinical practice and scientific reports in the literature suggest that the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors are considered a risk factor for sudden deafness. Further studies with larger samples and control groups are needed for better assessing this association.