Congruence and incongruence on the radiological and functional examination of inner ear hemorrhage

Abstract

Background Inner ear hemorrhage (IEH) is an increasingly recognized cochlear lesion that can cause sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is known to be the best imaging modality for clarifying the causes of SNHL and providing images that point to those causes. Aims Evaluate the lesional patterns in patients with presumed Inner ear hemorrhage (IEH) from radiological and functional aspects. Material and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 10 patients performed in our institution from 2014 to 2020, with suspected labyrinthine hemorrhage based on radiological and functional examination. Results We included 8 patients with IEH and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The median age was 55 years (range: 3 months − 78 years). The results from the MRI and functional tests were compared for each end-organ. Only three cases (37.5%) showed a correlation between signal abnormalities and dysfunction in the labyrinthine apparatus. Conclusions In patients with SNHL inner ear hemorrhage needs to be ruled out in the differential diagnosis, so specific MRI sequences should be requested. It represents a way to a better understanding of the disorder and the variety of findings claim for a complete auditory and vestibular testing.