Restoration of useful hearing after microvascular decompression of the cochlear nerve

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This report describes a patient with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who was found to have a megadolichoectasia vertebrobasilar system that appeared to be causing compression of the ipsilateral facial and vestibulocochlear nerves. The patient was treated conservatively for 4 months, during which time no hearing returned. He then underwent microvascular decompression of the affected nerves. At surgery, marked compression of the cranial nerves VII-VIII complex and the pons was observed. Postoperatively, the patient experienced a gradual return of useful hearing. We suggest that vascular compression may be a rare, but treatable, cause of sensorineural hearing loss.

Medical Subject Headings

Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Basilar Artery (physiopathology); Cochlea (surgery); Hearing Loss, Sensorineural (diagnosis, etiology, surgery); Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Nerve Compression Syndromes (complications, physiopathology, surgery); Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vascular Diseases (complications, diagnosis, physiopathology); Vertebral Artery (physiopathology); Vestibulocochlear Nerve (surgery)

Publication Date

7-1-1993

Publication Title

The American journal of otology

ISSN

0192-9763

Volume

14

Issue

4

First Page

392

Last Page

7

PubMed ID

8238278

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS