Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a very rare disease, and the symptoms can be vague. This case report serves as a reminder to take RP into consideration in patients with sudden hearing loss, with concurrent features of recurrent cartilaginous inflammation. A young lady presented with recurrent eye inflammation for two years and sought treatments from various general practitioners and ophthalmologists. Each attack was successfully controlled with a short course of oral or topical steroids. She later developed sudden onset aural perichondritis and severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and a diagnosis of RP was made after clinical and laboratory assessments. Delay in the diagnosis and treatment has led to permanent hearing loss in this patient.

Otitis media is still a common infection and can be associated with complications if not treated early. We report the case of an elderly gentleman who presented with an abscess deep to the temporalis muscle ‘Luc’s abscess’, as a complication of otitis media. Henry Luc first described this condition a cen- tury ago and in the antibiotic era, such manifestation is now rarely seen. We report the case of a 73- year-old man diagnosed with Luc’s abscess who presented with a week’s history of right temporal swelling that was associated with fever, right ear pain and progressive hearing impairment. This case report is a reminder to clinicians of this rare but treatable complication of a very common disease in the community.