Sensorineural hearing loss is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the vestibulocochlear nerve (Cranial nerve VIII), the inner ear, or central processing centers of the brain.
The Weber test, in which a tuning fork is touched to the head, localizes to the normal ear in people with this condition. The Rinne test, which tests air conduction vs. bone conduction is positive (normal), though both bone and air conduction are reduced equally. The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... // H00-H59 - Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H06) Disorders of eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit (H00) Hordeolum and chalazion (H000) Hordeolum and other deep inflammation of eyelid (H001) Chalazion (H01) Other inflammation of eyelid (H010) Blepharitis (H011) Noninfectious dermatoses of eyelid (H02) Other disorders of eyelid (H020) Entropion... // H00-H59 - Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H06) Disorders of eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit (H00) Hordeolum and chalazion (H000) Hordeolum and other deep inflammation of eyelid (H001) Chalazion (H01) Other inflammation of eyelid (H010) Blepharitis (H011) Noninfectious dermatoses of eyelid (H02) Other disorders of eyelid (H020) Entropion... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a domain specific extension of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems for tumor diseases. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... The Diseases Database is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... Hearing impairment or deafness is decreased or absent ability to perceive auditory information. ... The vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth of twelve cranial nerves and also known as the auditory nerve. ... Cranial nerves are nerves which start directly from the brainstem instead of the spinal cord. ... An ear is an organ used by an animal to detect sound waves. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ... In the Weber test of hearing, a tuning fork is struck and placed on the patients forehead. ... An ear is an organ used by an animal to detect sound waves. ... The Rinne test of hearing compares perception of sounds, as transmitted by air or by bone conduction through the mastoid. ...

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is an otologic emergency, and must be treated with a high dose of steroids. Otology is a branch of biomedicine which studies normal and pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear (hearing and vestibular sensory systems and related structures and functions) as well its diseases, diagnosis and treatment. ... A steroid is a lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton with four fused rings. ...

Differential diagnosis

Sensorineural hearing loss may be congenital or acquired. A congenital disorder is a medical condition or defect that is present at or before birth (for example, congenital heart disease). ...

Congenital

• Lack of development (aplasia) of the cochlea
• Chromosomal syndromes (rare)
• Congenital cholesteatoma - squamous epithelium from the ear canal invades the middle ear, which is normally covered by respiratory epithelium. The squamous epithelium behaves like an invasive tumour and destroys middle ear structures if not removed
• Delayed familial progressive

Cross section of the cochlea. ... Figure 1: Chromosome. ... Cholesteatomas are benign tumors in cases where a perforation of the eardrum (tympanic membrane) does not heal without surgery, but instead grows through the hole into the middle ear and, if infection develops, results in a cyst-like tumor. ... The squamous epithelium is epithelium consisting of one or more cell layers, the most superficial of which is composed of flat, scalelike or platelike cells. ... Anatomy of the human ear. ... For an alternative meaning, see ear (botany). ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ...

Acquired

• Inflammatory
  • Suppurative labyrinthitis
  • Meningitis
  • Mumps
  • Measles
  • Viral
  • Syphilis

• Ototoxic drugs
  • Aminoglycosides (most common cause; e.g., tobramycin)
  • Loop diuretics (e.g., Furosemide)
  • Antimetabolites (e.g., Methotrexate)
  • Salicylates (e.g., Aspirin)

• Physical trauma - either due to a fracture of the temporal bone affecting the cochlea and middle ear, or a shearing injury affecting cranial nerve VIII.

• Noise-induced - prolonged exposure to loud noises (>90dB) causes hearing loss which begins at 4000Hz (high frequency). The normal hearing range is from 125 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

• Presbyacusis - age-related hearing loss that occurs in the high frequency range (4000Hz to 8000Hz).

• Sudden hearing loss
  • Idiopathic
  • Vascular ischemia of the inner ear or CN 8
  • Perilymph fistula, usually due to a rupture of the round or oval windows and the leakage of perilymph. The patient will most likely also experience vertigo or imbalance. A history of an event that increased intracranial pressure or caused trauma is usually present).

• Autoimmune - a prompt injection of steroids into ear is necessary.

• Cerebellopontine angle tumour (junction of the pons and cerebellum) (the cerebellopontine angle is the exit site of both CN7 and CN8. Patients with these tumours often have signs and symptoms corresponding to compression of both nerves)
  • Acoustic neuroma (Vestibular schwannoma) - this is a schwannoma (benign neoplasm of Schwann cells)
  • Meningioma - benign tumour of the pia and arachnoid maters

• Meniere's disease - causes sensorineural hearing loss in the low frequency range (125 Hz to 1000 Hz). Meniere's disesase is characterized by sudden attacks of vertigo lasting minutes to hours preceded by tinnitus, aural fullness, and fluctuating hearing loss.

Table 1. A table comparing sensorineural to conductive hearing loss Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation and may be referred to as the innate cascade. ... Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. ... The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A bacteriophage virus A virus is a submicroscopic parasite that infects cells in biological organisms. ... Depression-era U.S. poster advocating early syphilis treatment Syphilis (historically called lues) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a spirochaete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. ... Aminoglycosides are a group of antibiotics that are effective against certain types of bacteria. ... Tobramycin sulfate is an aminoglycoside antibiotic used to treat various types of bacterial infections, particularly Gram-negative infections. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Furosemide (INN) or frusemide (former BAN) is a loop diuretic used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and oedema. ... Methotrexate (abbreviated MTX; formerly known as amethopterin) is an antimetabolite drug used in treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. ... Salicylic acid is a colorless, crystalline organic carboxylic acid. ... Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ... In medicine, a trauma patient has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury resulting in secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and death. ... A fracture is the separation of a body into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress. ... The temporal bones (os temporales) are situated at the sides and base of the skull. ... Cross section of the cochlea. ... For an alternative meaning, see ear (botany). ... Shear is a form of structural failure. ... Cranial nerves are nerves which start directly from the brainstem instead of the spinal cord. ... DB or db or dB may stand for: Database, an organized collection of data DB (car), a French automobile maker Decibel (dB), the ratio between two quantities, used in acoustics and electronics Deutsche Bahn, the major German railway company Deutsche Bank, a German bank Discovery Bay, a residential development in... Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, is the cumulative effect of aging on hearing. ... Idiopathic is a medical adjective that indicates that a recognized cause has not yet been established. ... In medicine, ischemia (Greek ισχαιμία, isch- is restriction, hema or haema is blood) is a restriction in blood supply, generally due to factors in the blood vessels, with resultant damage or dysfunction of tissue. ... For an alternative meaning, see ear (botany). ... In medicine, a fistula (pl. ... The round window is one of two membranes that separates the inner ear from the middle ear. ... Perilymph is a fluid located within the cochlea (part of the ear) in 2 of its 3 muscles; the scala typmani and scala vestibuli. ... Vertigo, sometimes called a headrush, is the sensation of spinning while the body is stationary. ... Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiological senses. ... Intracranial pressure, or ICP, is the pressure of the brain, Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and the brains blood supply within the intracranial space. ... Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. ... A steroid is a lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton with four fused rings. ... Position of the pons in the human brain The pons (sometimes pons Varolii after Costanzo Varolio) is a knob on the brain stem. ... Figure 1a: A human brain, with the cerebellum in purple. ... Acoustic neuroma (or Vestibular Schwannoma) is a benign tumor of the acoustic nerve (more properly the vestibulocochlear nerve) just after it has left the brainstem, in the pontine angle. ... Schwannomas, also referred to as Neurilomas, are slow-growing central nervous system tumours arising from the supporting cells of peripheral nerves, which include cranial and spinal nerve roots). ... Schwann cells are a variety of neuroglia that wrap around axons in the peripheral nervous system, forming the myelin sheath. ... Meningiomas are tumors arising from the outer part of the arachnoid mater in the meninges of the brain or the spinal cord. ... The pia mater (Latin: tender mother, itself a translation from Arabic) is the delicate innermost layer of the meninges - the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. ... The Arachnoid mater is one of the three layers of the meninges, interposed between the dura mater and the pia mater and separated from the pia mater by the subarachnoid space. ... Ménière’s disease (or syndrome, since its cause is unknown) was first described by French physician Prosper Ménière in 1861. ... Tinnitus, ringing ears or ear noise is a phenomenon of the nervous system connected to the ear, characterised by perception of a ringing or beating sound (often perceived as sinusoidal) with no external source. ... Conductive hearing loss is a failure in the efficient conduction of sound waves through the outer ear, typanic membrane (eardrum) or middle ears (ossicles). ...

For an alternative meaning, see ear (botany). ... Cranial nerves are nerves which start directly from the brainstem instead of the spinal cord. ... For an alternative meaning, see ear (botany). ... The tympanum or tympanic membrane, colloquially known as eardrum, is a thin membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear. ... A left human ear. ... An ear is an organ used by an animal to detect sound waves. ...

Treatment

At present, sensorineural hearing loss is treated with hearing aids, which amplify sounds at pre-set frequencies to overcome a sensorineural hearing loss in that range; or cochlear implants, which stimulate the cochlear nerve directly. Behind the ear aid Hearing Aid is the title of a track from They Might Be Giants 1990 album, Flood A hearing aid is a device used to help the hard-of-hearing hear sounds better. ... Illustration of the internal parts of a cochlear implant A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted hearing aid that can help provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. ... The Cochlear nerve (n. ...

References

• Sensorineural Hearing Loss - Powerpoint presentation slides for a presentation on sensorineural hearing loss (FDL).
• Sensorineural Hearing Loss - Lecture notes for a presentation on sensorineural hearing loss (FDL).