Unilateral, acute onset sensorineural hearing loss (“sudden sensorineural hearing loss” [SSNHL]) as an isolated event without other associated neurological deficits usually results from a lesion of the cochlea. Lesions in the ascending central auditory pathways cranial to the cochlear nucleus seldom result in unilateral hearing loss due to decussation of the central auditory pathways at multiple levels. We describe a patient with a tiny acute infarct in the right pons resulting in isolated acute onset left-sided SSHNL, without any other associated acute neurological deficits.
DoyleKJFowlerCStarrA. Audiologic findings in unilateral deafness resulting from contralateral pontine infarct. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1996; 114: 482–486. doi: 10.1016/SO194-5998(96)70224-3.
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MurakamiTOnoYAkagiN. A case of superior cerebellar artery syndrome with contralateral hearing loss at onset. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005; 76: 1744–1745. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2004.058735.
