[Diagnostic management of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in adults].
Adult unilateral hearing loss is a frequent complaint observed by the E.N.T. specialist. With a pure tone audiometry, we can recognize a conductive hearing loss from a sensorineural hearing loss. In case of a conductive hearing loss, a temporal bone computed tomography is the first choice procedure. For the sensorineural hearing loss, the standard screening test is the brainstem evoked response auditory (BERA), which can be completed by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The BERA have a false negatives level of 2 to 15% according to the studies, which means that a checking must be done 6 months later. The improvement of MR examination offers a better detection of very small tumours (2-3 mm). The cost of a MRI is equivalent to the cost of 2 BERA. In conclusion, we propose MRI as the only investigation to be performed in case of an unilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
Mahillon
V
V
Service d'Oto-Rhino-Laryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale, C.H.U Saint-Pierre, U.L.B.
Saussez
S
S
Gérard
J M
JM
Chantrain
G
G
Thill
M P
MP
D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans