title: Sudden bilateral simultaneous deafness with vertigo as a sole manifestation of vertebrobasilar insufficiency.
abstract: A 68 year old woman presented with bilateral sudden simultaneous hearing loss and transient spontaneous vertigo as a sole manifestation of vertebrobasilar insufficiency. Extensive investigation to exclude other causes was unremarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, including diffusion images, showed no abnormalities. A magnetic resonance angiogram showed severe stenosis of the middle third of the basilar artery. A pure tone audiogram showed moderate sensorineural-type hearing loss bilaterally. The localisation and mechanism of an isolated cochleovestibular dysfunction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Keimyung University School of Medicine, 194 Dongsan dong, Daegu, 700-712 South Korea. hlee@dsmc.or.kr
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Baloh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003638:Deafness / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011859:Radiography; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014717:Vertigo / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology