Abstract
The underlying pathophysiology of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) with vertigo has yet to be identified. The aims of the current study were (1) to elucidate whether there are functional changes of the intrinsic brain activity in the auditory and vestibular cortices of the ISSNHL patients with vertigo using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and (2) whether the connectivity alterations are related to the clinical performance associated with ISSNHL with vertigo. Twelve ISSNHL patients with vertigo, eleven ISSNHL patients without vertigo and eleven healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Rs-fMRI data of auditory and vestibular cortices was extracted and regional homogeneity (ReHo) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) were evaluated; the chi-square test, the ANOVA and the Bonferroni multiple comparison tests were performed. Significantly decreased ReHo in the ipsilateral auditory cortex, as well as increased FC between the inferior parietal gyrus and the auditory cortex were found in the ISSNHL with vertigo groups. These findings contribute to a characterization of early plastic changes in ISSNHL patients with vertigo and cultivate new insights for the etiology research.
Highlights
Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is defined as a sensorineural hearing loss of at least 30 dB for three or more contiguous audiometric frequencies
When we focused on auditory cortex (AC) and separated the affected side, we found that the regional homogeneity (ReHo) signals in the contralateral superior temporal gyrus were both decreased in the Vertigo and Comparison of the Functional Connectivity Among Groups
The major findings of this study demonstrated that: (1) the auditory and vestibular cortices both exhibited altered local activities; (2) In comparison to the normal hearing, the ReHo signals of the ipsilateral AC were increased in the idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) without vertigo and decreased in the ISSNHL with vertigo; (3) There was a negative association between the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores and the ReHo values in the inferior parietal gyrus
Summary
Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is defined as a sensorineural hearing loss of at least 30 dB for three or more contiguous audiometric frequencies. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss typically develops over 72 h and affects 10, 20 and 300 out of every 100,000 people in China, the United States and Germany every year Vertigo develops in approximately 20% to 60% of the patients with ISSNHL (Moskowitz et al, 1984; Park et al, 2001; Rauch, 2008; Pogson et al, 2016; Chang et al, 2018). It’s necessary to identify the underlying pathophysiology of ISSNHL with vertigo which represents a unique clinical entity dissimilar to ISSNHL without vertigo (Rauch, 2018)
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