Temporal Bone Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Low Frequency Versus Other Types.

Background: Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for diagnosing vestibular schwannoma (VS). This study aimed to compare the incidence of VS among patients with low-frequency, high-frequency, and flat-type sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and to assess the effectiveness of MRI for each SSNHL type.

Methods: We analyzed 755 patients diagnosed with SSNHL at a single tertiary center between January 2014 and March 2020. All underwent temporal bone MRI. Logistic regression was used to determine the associations of SSNHL types with VS. Additionally, we conducted a correlation analysis to examine the relationship between word recognition scores (WRS) and the size of tumors measured on MRI at the time of diagnosis.

Results: Magnetic resonance imaging identified VS in 23 of 755 cases (3.0%). Of the patients, 123 (16.3%) had low-frequency SSNHL; none of these patients had VS. The incidence of VS differed significantly between the low-frequency SSNHL group and other SSNHL types (P < .001). A significant negative correlation was found between initial tumor size and WRS (r2 = 0.2905, P=.008).

Conclusion: The prevalence of VS was rare in patients with low-frequency SSNHL. The pattern of hearing loss may provide insights into the likelihood of tumor presence, thereby aiding in more effective audiometric screening and decision-making regarding MRI for detecting VS.