落雷による聴器障害11例

Lightning-induced Aural Disorders:Report of Eleven Cases

　はじめに

　落雷事故による障害には，電撃傷（感電して人体におこる障害），爆風で地面にたたきつけられるなどで生ずる頭部外傷，聴器外傷，事故のショックからの心因性影響などが挙げられる。今回われわれは，1990年5月15日埼玉県下で発生した落雷で受傷した11例の聴器外傷を経験した。11例のうち2例はいわゆる電撃傷を伴い，残り9例は電撃傷を伴わず聴器外傷だけであった。貴重な症例と思われるのでここに報告する。

Eleven school children were injured on their way to school when a lightning struck a nearby tree. Two of them suffered from side flash resulting in syncope and the first to second degree burns. All the children complained of high tone tinnitus and six cases had ear drum perforation. Upon audiometric examinations most of the cases showed a sensoneural hearing loss at high frequencies with either gradual, sharp or C₅ dip type. All the symptoms were improved rapidly over the period of 1-2 months. However, in two cases a conductive hearing loss remained. We discussed the patho-physiology of lightning-induced aural disorders.