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MRI Reveals Inner Ear Anomalies in Children With Hearing Loss CHICAGO -- September 15, 2008 -- Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), physicians can identify soft-tissue defects that contribute to hearing loss in children, according to a study in the September issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. John E. McClay, MD, University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, and colleagues analysed the medical records of 227 children aged 1 month to 17 years (average age 5.3 y) with a diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss. The children underwent MRI between June 1996 and June 2002. A total of 170 children had clinical information available and were included in the study. Of these, 101 (59%) had hearing loss in both ears and 69 (41%) had hearing loss in 1 ear, adding up to a total of 271 ears with sensorineural hearing loss. On the MRIs: · 108 ears (40%) had inner ear abnormalities · 87 (32%) had abnormalities of the cochlea, including 63 (23%) with mild abnormalities and 24 (9%) with abnormalities considered moderate to severe · 49 ears (18%) had either missing (26 of 49, or 53%) or deficient (23 of 49, or 47%) cochlear nerves · Ears with severe and profound hearing loss had more abnormalities than those with mild and moderate hearing loss (48% vs 29%) · Children with moderate, severe or profound hearing loss in 1 ear had more inner ear abnormalities than children with hearing loss of the same severity in 2 ears (62% vs 38%) "Although the specific origin of sensorineural hearing loss may remain undiagnosed in many patients, a thorough workup to identify the cause of sensorineural hearing loss should be considered in each patient," the authors wrote. "Historically, high-resolution CT has been the imaging modality of choice in the initial workup of these patients. However, the soft tissue structures of the inner ear responsible for the electrochemical transfer of sound to the brain, such as the membranous labyrinth and the cochlear nerve, are not evaluated well with high-resolution CT." "With MRI, these soft tissue components of hearing from the cochlea to the auditory cortex can be elucidated, which should improve our ability to appropriately diagnose the location of the defect in these children with sensorineural hearing loss," they concluded. SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version