International Journal of Neurology and Brain Disorders | Volume 6 | Issue 2 | 2019-12-05

Hearing Loss Due to Unilateral Nuclear Infarction

Otto Hernandez Fustes

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A 53-years-old male, ex-smoker, assessed as an outpatient due to acute hypoacusia and tinnitus. Examination was remarkable for hearing loss on the right, abnormal Weber and Rinne tests, and positive Romberg sign to the left. Audiometry evidenced profound right sensorineural hearing loss, carotid Doppler showed moderate right internal carotid artery stenosis, and brain magnetic resonance imaging confirmed signs of subacute brainstem lesions in the area of the right vestibulo-cochlear nucleus. (Figure 1). Hearing apparatus disorders are the main causes of hypoacusia, although ipsilateral ischemic lesions of the cochlear nuclei must be considered due to its vascular peculiarities [1-3] . References 1. Kingsley, R. The Auditory System. In: Kingsley R. (ed). Concise text of neuroscience. 2 nd ed. (2000) Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 393-431. PubMed│CrossRef│Others 2. Hwang, J.Y., Mun, S.K. Sudden unilateral sensorineural hearing loss caused by acute pontine infarction. (2011) Eur Neurol 65: 338 339. PubMed│CrossRef│Others 3. Lee, H. Recent advances in acute hearing loss due to posterior circulation ischemic stroke. (2014) J Neurol Sci 338: 23 29. PubMed│CrossRef│Others