TNF and autoimmune disease: Autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn's disease which induce overproduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and rarer diseases like the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes with inflammasome activation and subsequent overproduction of interleukin-1(IL-1) like CINCA syndrome and Muckle–Wells disease have been associated with SNHL [8, 9].