Functional Connectivity in Patients With Sensorineural Hearing Loss Using Resting-State MRI

This study was undertaken to evaluate whole-brain functional connectivity changes related to auditory cortex in patients with left-sided sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) using resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging.

Imaging was performed in 19 patients with left-sided SNHL and 35 individuals in the control group without SNHL. Data were collected and analyzed to map functional connectivity using the left/right primary auditory cortex as the region of interest to identify global differences between patients with SNHL and the control group.

In comparison to the control group, the SNHL group was found to have significant functional connectivity changes in the auditory system, recognition network, visual cortex, and language network.

These findings suggest that functional brain alterations in unilateral SNHL patients may indicate reorganizations that occur in response to auditory deficits.