Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Published on: January 25, 2016
The Size of Internal Auditory Canal Diverticula Is Unrelated to Degree of Hearing Loss
Thomas J Muelleman1, Kaley Pippin2, Matthew Shew3
1House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, California.
Objectives:
To explore the relationship between hearing loss and the internal auditory canal (IAC) diverticula. To determine whether diverticula exist within or medial to the otic capsule and the prevalence in a control population.
Methods:
Retrospective review of adult patients with radiologic evidence of an IAC diverticulum, no evidence of otosclerosis, and audiometric testing. Analyzed degree of hearing loss and width, length, height, and volume of diverticulum. Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements lateral and medial to the diverticulum.
Results:
Pure tone average (PTA), air-bone gap, and WRS (word recognition score) did not correlate with length, width, height, and volume of the diverticula. In patients with a unilateral diverticulum, there was no difference in mean PTA or WRS when comparing the diverticulum and nondiverticulum sides. Mean HU lateral to the diverticulum (2104 HU) was found to be significantly higher than medial to the diverticulum (1818 HU). There is a 5.6% prevalence of IAC diverticula in patients who underwent high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans for chronic sinusitis (control group).
Conclusion:
These data support the notion that hearing loss in this population is a product of sampling bias. The size of IAC diverticula does not correlate with the degree of hearing loss, and there is no statistically significant association between sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and the presence of an IAC diverticulum. IAC diverticula may exist medial to, rather than within, the otic capsule given the significant difference in mean HUs medial and lateral to the diverticula.
Level Of Evidence:
4 Laryngoscope, 130:1011-1015, 2020.
More Related Videos
03:49Author Spotlight: Optimizing EAS with Long Electrodes for Enhanced Cochlear Coverage and Hearing Preservation
Published on: October 11, 2024
06:27Simple Surgical Induction of Conductive Hearing Loss with Verification Using Otoscope Visualization and Behavioral Clap Startle Response in Rat
Published on: October 26, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:31Hearing
01:24One-Degree-of-Freedom System
A one-degree-of-freedom system is defined by an independent variable that determines its state and behavior. One example of a one-degree-of-freedom system is a simple harmonic oscillator, such as a...
01:02Degrees of Freedom
For example, suppose there are three unknown numbers whose mean is 10; although we can freely assign values to the first and second numbers, the value of the last number can not be arbitrarily assigned.
01:02Degrees of Freedom
For example, suppose there are three unknown numbers whose mean is 10; although we can freely assign values to the first and second numbers, the value of the last number can not be arbitrarily...
02:05Degree of Unsaturation
The degree of unsaturation for hydrocarbons is U = (2C + 2 − H) / 2, where C is the number of carbon atoms and H is the number of hydrogen atoms.
01:10Line Loss
Line loss impacts power delivery efficiency in a balanced three-phase circuit. The symmetry in such a circuit simplifies the...