title: Audiological correlates to a rupture of a pontine arteriovenous malformation.
abstract: This is a report of a female patient in her midthirties who sustained a hemorrhage secondary to an arteriovenous malformation in the region of the pons. The patient's initial symptoms included hearing loss and tinnitus, which were followed by the more characteristic symptoms of headache and loss of consciousness. Results of audiological testing at three months postaccident documented the presence of a hearing loss and a central auditory processing disorder, and the patient was provided an auditory rehabilitation program. Follow-up testing over the course of an additional year documented improvement in both pure-tone threshold and central test results; however, at 15 months postaccident, some auditory deficits remained, especially in the ear ipsilateral to the primary site of lesion. The anatomical correlates of these deficits are discussed, as are the potential contributions of both the auditory rehabilitation program and spontaneous recovery mechanisms to the documented improvements in auditory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences, Neuroaudiology Lab, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1085, USA. frank.musiek@uconn.edu
authors.forename: Frank E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Musiek
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Baran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D001299:Audiometry; D001304:Auditory Diseases, Central / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000002:abnormalities*; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D004007:Dichotic Listening Tests; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D011149:Pons / Q000098:blood supply*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous / Q000150:complications; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed