MRI bests CT in identifying soft-tissue inner ear defects in children
Using MRI, physicians can identify soft-tissue defects that contribute to hearing loss in children, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
Sensorineural—related to sensory nerves and hearing loss—affects thousands of children per year, according to background information in the article. About half of all cases are thought to be genetic, 25 percent acquired and 25 percent of unknown cause.
Radiography, including plain film x-rays and CT, is often used to evaluate inner ear abnormalities in children with hearing loss. The methods evaluate the bones that contain the working components of inner-ear hearing. However, the researchers said that the defects in the soft tissue within the bones also may be responsible for hearing loss.
John E. McClay, MD, and colleagues at University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, analyzed the medical records of 227 children, average age 5.3 years, diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.
The children underwent MRI between June 1996 and June 2002, and a total of 170 children had clinical information available and were included in the study.
Of these, McClay and colleagues found that 59 percent had hearing loss in both ears and 41 percent had hearing loss in one ear, adding up to a total of 271 ears with sensorineural hearing loss.
According to the MRI findings:
“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.
Sensorineural—related to sensory nerves and hearing loss—affects thousands of children per year, according to background information in the article. About half of all cases are thought to be genetic, 25 percent acquired and 25 percent of unknown cause.
Radiography, including plain film x-rays and CT, is often used to evaluate inner ear abnormalities in children with hearing loss. The methods evaluate the bones that contain the working components of inner-ear hearing. However, the researchers said that the defects in the soft tissue within the bones also may be responsible for hearing loss.
John E. McClay, MD, and colleagues at University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, analyzed the medical records of 227 children, average age 5.3 years, diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.
The children underwent MRI between June 1996 and June 2002, and a total of 170 children had clinical information available and were included in the study.
Of these, McClay and colleagues found that 59 percent had hearing loss in both ears and 41 percent had hearing loss in one ear, adding up to a total of 271 ears with sensorineural hearing loss.
According to the MRI findings:
- 40 percent had inner ear abnormalities;
- 32 percent had abnormalities of the cochlea, including 23 percent with mild abnormalities and 9 percent with abnormalities considered moderate to severe;
- 18 percent had either missing (53 percent) or deficient (47 percent) cochlear nerves;
- Ears with severe and profound hearing loss had more abnormalities than those with mild and moderate hearing loss (48 vs. 29 percent); and
- Children with moderate, severe or profound hearing loss in one ear had more inner ear abnormalities than children with hearing loss of the same severity in two ears (62 vs. 38 percent).
“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.