Auditory dysfunction in patients with cerebrovascular disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Otolaryngology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Auditory dysfunction significantly impacts quality of life.
• Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is a prevalent neurological disorder.
• CVD is an underestimated cause of auditory dysfunction, particularly in stroke patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the relationship between auditory dysfunction and various types of CVD.
• To describe recent advances in the etiology, anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment of CVD-related auditory dysfunction.
• To highlight the increasing prevalence of CVD with auditory dysfunction due to an aging population.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on cerebrovascular disease and auditory dysfunction.
• Analysis of different types of CVD: cerebral infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebrovascular malformation, moyamoya disease, and superficial siderosis.
• Discussion of diagnostic challenges and the role of psychoacoustic and electrophysiological testing.

Main Results:

• CVD can lead to diverse auditory dysfunctions, including deafness, cortical deafness, pure word deafness, auditory agnosia, and auditory hallucinations.
• These auditory symptoms can be subtle and require specialized testing for detection.
• The incidence of CVD-related auditory dysfunction is expected to rise with an aging global population.

Conclusions:

• Cerebrovascular disease is a significant, often unrecognized, cause of auditory dysfunction.
• Early recognition and understanding of CVD's impact on the auditory system are vital for effective management.
• Overlooking CVD as a cause of auditory dysfunction can have severe, potentially fatal, consequences.