BACKGROUND: herpes and audiology. PURPOSE: to promote a theoretical approach mainly on herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2 and varicella zoster virus, and their effects on human hearing. Although representing the most relevant human herpetic viruses for the area of Audiology within the Speech and Language Pathology Science, these viruses are little studied and known, especially in Brazil. METHODS: a research was carried out in national and international electronic databases, including SciELO, MEDLINE and LILACS, and using the following keyword combinations: herpes simplex/zoster X hearing loss or deafness. Studies published from the 90's until today were selected, revealing those that would contain the highest informative value, which would thus contribute for the objectives of this work. CONCLUSION: the studied herpetic viruses show strict relation with hearing disorders, regardless of the age in which the patient is affected.
Herpes Zoster; Herpes Simplex; Hearing Loss; Deafness