Magnetic resonance imaging of endolymphatic sac in acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss without vertigo.

The etiology of acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) may be associated with deteriorated function of the endolymphatic sac. Using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on a 1.5-tesla MR system, we evaluated the frequency of visualization and contrast enhancement of the endolymphatic sac in 25 patients (9 men and 16 women; age range 11-64 years) with ALHL and 21 control subjects. The present study demonstrated that the frequency of visualization and enhancement of the endolymphatic sac in patients with ALHL was not significantly higher than in control subjects. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel