Delayed sensorineural hearing loss following uncomplicated neurovascular decompression of the trigeminal root entry zone.

Trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux) is a condition characterized by intense, unilateral paroxysmal facial pain caused by an abnormality of the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve. For patients with intractable pain unrelated to a pathologic process who fail to respond to conventional medical management, the microvascular decompression (MVD) is the operation of choice. Conductive or sensorineural hearing loss due either to stretching of the eighth nerve or hemotympanum during the operation is among the possible sequelae of MVD. We report on a perplexing case of delayed sensorineural hearing loss following uneventful microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia that included intraoperative evoked potential monitoring.