The incidence of hearing impairment after anesthesia is rare. We report a case who received left total knee and hip replacement and developed severe hearing impairment of the left ear after general anesthesia. Examination of the left ear by an otolaryngologist showed that there was no noticeable abnormality. The hearing acuity recovered gradually and returned to normal 3 days later. The use of nitrous oxide during anesthesia was incriminated as the possible cause.