Abstract
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is defined as acute hearing loss of the sensorineural type of at least 30 dB over 3 contiguous frequencies that occurs within a 72-hour period. Although many different causative factors have been proposed, sudden sensorineural hearing loss is still considered "idiopathic" in 71%-85% of cases, and treatments are empiric, not based on etiology. MR imaging implemented with a 3D FLAIR sequence has provided new insights into the etiology of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Herein, we review the current management trends for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, from the initial clinical diagnosis to therapeutic strategies and diagnostic work-up. We focused primarily on MR imaging assessment and discuss the relevance that MR imaging findings might have for patient management, pointing out different perspectives for future clinical research.
Highlights
We review the current management trends of patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), from the initial clinical diagnosis to the therapeutic strategies, through the diagnostic work-up
Our work focuses on MR imaging assessment
If SSHL is diagnosed, an empiric treatment is started while the seen on the 3D steady-state free procession sequence,[24] the assessdiagnostic work-up continues
Summary
MR imaging of the temporal bone is challenging because of the complexity and small dimensions of the anatomic structures. Pure-tone audiometry is the main diagnostic tool cause the former are more sensitive than a T1-weighted sequence used to differentiate between conductive and sensorineural hear- in detecting intralabyrinthine contrast enhancement,[11,14,23] and ing loss, which have very different management strategies. The the latter can clarify the presence of a small schwannoma.
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