Labyrinthine artery detection in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss by 7-T MRI

To compare the detection rates of the labyrinthine artery in subjects with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) and in normal-hearing controls using 7-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Cross-sectional study.

Tertiary referral center.

In 18 patients (9 males, 9 females) with ISSHL and 32 volunteers (21 males, 11 females) with normal hearing, 7-T MRI (Discovery MR950; GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was performed with the 3-dimensional time-of-flight spoiled gradient echo (3D TOF SPGR) sequence to compare the detection rates of the labyrinthine artery.

The MRI scans were performed from 3 to 54 days after onset. Of the 18 patients with ISSHL, 8 showed complete recovery, 9 showed partial recovery, and the rest showed no recovery. The labyrinthine artery was depicted in 36 of 36 ears (100%) in the ISSHL group and 63 of 64 (98.4%) ears in the normal-hearing group, with no significant difference in detection rates.

To our knowledge, the present study is the first to report depiction of the labyrinthine artery by 7-T MRI. These preliminary results indicate occlusion of the labyrinthine artery would be rare in the pathogenesis of ISSHL, and they also demonstrate that the labyrinthine artery could be detected by ultra-high-field MRI.