MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH SUDDEN DEAFNESS

Although many theories on the etiology of sudden deafness have been pr oposed, the main pathological focus remains uncertain. In this study, MR examinations were performed on patients with unilateral sudden deaf ness to study the relationship between MRI findings and response to tr eatments, i.e. amidotrizoate, steroid, or bath. In 7 out of 30 cases, the cochlea and/or the vestibule showed higher signal intensity on pro ton density and T2-weighted images on the diseased side (MRI positive cases). These findings suggest changes in the chemical composition of the perilymph and/or the endolymph, since proton density and T2-weight ed images reflect water content. It appears that MRI positive sudden d eafness is more difficult to cure even with the use of amidotrizoate o r steroid than MRI negative sudden deafness. Amidotrizoate seems to be more effective in MRI negative sudden deafness. MRI would help us to further classify the etiology of sudden deafness.