Functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Objective: To investigate the clinical predictors of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Methods: One hundred twenty patients with SSNHL underwent auditory evaluations and MRI examinations. Their audiometric parameters, clinical presentation and MRI results were analyzed to explore which types of patients with SSNHL should undergo MRI examination. Results: The MRI examination revealed that 42 cases out of 120 (35%) proved to be abnormal. The exact clinical predictors of SSNHL were found for 14 cases out of 42 (11.7%) while possible clinical predictors were found for 10 cases (8.3%) out of 42 were found. The 14 patients whose MRI results revealed the exact clinical predictors with SSNHL. Meanwhile, all 14 patients with exact clinical predictors presented with vertigo (78.6%) or severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss (85.7%). Chi-square test analysis showed that the incidence of finding the exact etiology of SSNHL with MRI was significantly greater for the group with severe or profound hearing loss than for those with SSNHL below the severe stage (P < 0.05). Conclusion: When patients with SSNHL have severe or worse sensorineural hearing loss and no response for ABR tests, MRI imaging seems to be a useful examination, especially for patients with profound SSNHL. The purpose of MRI should not be just to exclude specific causes of retrocochlear hearing loss using appropriate imaging techniques; MRI imaging can also be applied to analyze common etiologies of SSNHL.