title: Prospective radiological study concerning a series of patients suffering from conductive or mixed hearing loss due to superior semicircular canal dehiscence.
abstract: The aim of this study is to appreciate the incidence of patients with isolated conductive hearing loss with normal drum due to superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SCD). It is a prospective radiological study. Two hundred and seventy-two patients with a normal drum suffering from isolated unilateral or bilateral conductive or mixed hearing loss were included in a prospective radiological study. A high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) was performed in all the patients. Those who were found to have a unilateral or bilateral SCD underwent further etiological, clinical, audiologic evaluation. Ten patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss were found to have a unilateral or bilateral SCD. The disease was bilateral in five cases, and most often associated with a dehiscence of the tegmen tympani on both sides, supporting the theory of the congenital nature of the disease. There was no clear correlation between symptoms and the size of the SCD. Because patients were not suffering from incapacitating vestibular symptoms, they were not operated for surgical occlusion of the SCD, and were referred to a hearing aid specialist to improve hearing. Conductive or mixed hearing loss due to SCD is relatively frequent, justifying in our opinion that a systematic HRCT be carried out before surgery of any patient with conductive hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, Hôpital Nord, CHU Saint-Etienne, France. christian.martin@chu-st-etienne.fr
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chahine
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Veyret
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.forename: Jean Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Prades
authors.forename: Jean François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pouget
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*