MRI spots anomalies in children with hearing loss

Data from more than 200 children with sensorineural hearing loss suggest MRI tops CT for identifying soft-tissue defects associated with inner ear anomalies.

Dr. John E. McClay and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children's Medical Center Dallas analyzed the medical records of 227 children (average age 5.3 years) with a diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss. The investigators found that about a third of patients had MR evidence of several types of inner ear abnormalities that accounted for multiple levels of hearing loss. The results were published in the September issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (2008;134[9]:945-952).