Detection Rates of the Labyrinthine Artery in Patients with ISSHL by 7-T MRI

Abstract

Objectives:

Disturbance of inner ear blood flow has been considered to be one of the possible causes of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL); however, imaging evaluation of the labyrinthine artery has not been reported to date. The aim of this study was to compare the detection rates of labyrinthine artery in subjects with and without ISSNHL using 7-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods:

In 10 patients (5 males and 5 females) with ISSHL (ISSNHL group) and 14 volunteers (8 males and 5 females) with normal hearing (Control group), 7-T MRI (Discovery MR950, GE Medical Systems) was performed with 3D time-of-flight spoiled gradient echo (3D TOF SPGR) sequence for the comparison of detection rates of the labyrinthine artery.

Results:

MRI scan was performed from 11 days to 49 days after onset. Among 10 patients with ISSNHL, 3 showed complete recovery and the rest showed partial recovery. The labyrinthine artery was depicted in 20 of 20 ears (100%) in the ISSHL group and 27 of 28 (96.4%) ears in the Control group. There was no significant difference in detection rates.

Conclusions:

The present study is the first to report depiction of the labyrinthine artery by 7-T MRI. Our preliminary results indicate occlusion of the labyrinthine artery would be rare in the pathogenesis of ISSNHL and also demonstrate the labyrinthine artery could be detected by ultra-high field MRI.