RESUMO
Objective:To investigate the correlation between the facial auditory nerve and anterior inferior cerebellar artery vascular loop in MRI of the internal auditory meatus and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Methods:This retrospective study enrolled 144 patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing lossï¼SSNHLï¼ï¼experimental groupï¼ and 36 healthy subjects with 72 earsï¼control groupï¼, who attended the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the 940th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Unit of the Chinese PLA from January, 2019 to January, 2021. The magnetic resonance imagingï¼MRIï¼ data of the internal auditory meatus and clinical data were collected and compared between the two groups. Results:The distance between the auditory nerve and the peripheral vessels in the unilateral SSNHL-affected ear was significantly different from that in the contralateral ears and that in the healthy ears of the control group ï¼P<0.05ï¼. The distance between the auditory nerve and the peripheral vessels in both ear affected by bilateral SSNHL was significantly different from that in the healthy ears of the control group ï¼P<0.05ï¼. There was no significant difference in radiological grading of vascular loops between the ears affected by unilateral SSNHL and the contralateral ears and the healthy ear of the control group ï¼P>0.05ï¼. No statistically significant differences in radiological grading of vascular loops were found between both ears with bilateral SSNHL and the healthy ears in the control groupï¼P>0.05ï¼. The severity of hearing loss, audiometric configuration, radiological grading of vascular loops and the distance between the facial auditory nerve and peripheral vessels were not significantly different between the affected ears in unilateral SSNHL and both ears in bilateral SSNHL ï¼P>0.05ï¼. Conclusion:SSNHL is associated with the distance between the auditory nerve and the nearest peripheral vessel. SSNHL may occur when the vessel compresses the auditory nerve.