Acute Vestibular Neuritis Associated with Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus / 대한평형의학회지

ABSTRACT

Vestibular neuritis, one of common causes of acute spontaneous vertigo, is characterized by a sudden onset of vertigo with horizontal-torsional spontaneous nystagmus and unsteadiness with a falling tendency. Herpes zoster is a common infection caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) occurs when this virus is reactivated in the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. VZV can cause vestibular neuritis with cochlear dysfunction as a form of herpes zoster oticus, also known as Ramsay-Hunt syndrome. However, to our knowledge, isolated vestibular neuritis associated with HZO has been rarely reported, because of distance between the trigeminal nerve and the vestibulocochlear nerve. We present an unusual case of vestibular neuritis complicated by the HZO.