Early detection of stroke at the sudden sensorineural hearing loss stage

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) can be a prodromal symptom of ischemic stroke, especially posterior circulation strokes in the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) area. Early diagnosis and optimal treatment for vascular SSNHL provide an opportunity to prevent more extensive area infarction. The objective of our research was to find clues that suggest stroke at the stage of isolated sudden hearing loss.

We retrospectively investigated the medical records of patients who received an initial diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss upon admission from January 2017 to December 2022 at Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Among these patients, 30 individuals who developed acute ischemic stroke during their hospital stay were enrolled as the case group. To create a control group, we matched individuals from the nonstroke idiopathic SSNHL patients to the case group in terms of age (±3 years old) at a ratio of 1:4. We collected the clinical characteristics, pure tone hearing threshold test results, and imaging information for all patients included in the study.

Three models were constructed to simulate different clinical situations and to identify vascular sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The results revealed that patients with SSNHL who had three or more stroke risk factors, bilateral hearing loss, moderately severe to total hearing loss, and any intracranial large artery stenosis and occlusion (≥50%) were at a higher risk of developing ischemic stroke during hospitalization. Consistent with previous studies, the presence of vertigo at onset also played a significant role in the early detection of upcoming stroke.

Clinicians should be alert to SSNHL patients with bilateral hearing loss, moderately severe to total hearing loss and other aforementioned features. Early pure tone audiometric hearing assessment and vascular assessment are necessary for high-risk patients with SSNHL.