Correlation MRI - Paraclinical Examination in Sudden Deafness Associated With Vertigo

Acute cochleo-vestibular syndrome or labyrinthitis is characterized clinically by the sudden appearance of a great rotatory vertigo and a unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. In this clinical context, MRI is the examination to eliminate differential diagnoses and to make a positive diagnosis of labyrinthitis (supposedly infectious, immunologic or ischemic). The etiologies described are ischemic, infectious or autoimmune, so the risk factors are very variable (cardiovascular, autoimmune or infectious).

Labyrinthitis has been little studied as a clinical entity in its own right. Indeed, studies mainly focus on sudden deafness with subgroups of patients with vertigo.

The incidence of sudden deafness is of the order of 5 to 20 per 100,000 people per year but is probably under-diagnosed.

The individual and medico-economic consequences are similar to those of hearing loss, with an increased risk of dementia, depression, premature death and an increase in health care consumption.