Audiological characteristics and postoperative hearing preservation of vestibular schwannoma presenting with sudden hearing loss.

Abstract

The study aims to characterize the features of VS patients with SHL to provide guidance for clinicians. We conducted an retrospective study, which included 626 participants with VS. Clinical and audiometric characteristics, imaging features, and postoperative hearing preservation were compared and analyzed between the SHL group and non-SHL group. The SHL group consisted of 139 patients (22%), which included 65 males and 74 females (47%/53%). The peak age ranges for the onset of hearing loss were 35-39 years (17%) in the SHL group and 45-49 years (16%) in the non-SHL group. The average ages of medical consultation in the SHL and non-SHL groups were 42±13 years and 45±12 years (P=0.011). The most common interval from hearing loss onset to consultation was 1 month (29%) in the SHL group, whereas it was 7-12 (18%) months in the non-SHL group. As the Koos grade increased, the proportion of participants with serviceable hearing in the SHL group gradually declined. The residual hearing preservation rate in the SHL group was significantly higher than that in the non-SHL group (84% vs. 63%, p=0.024). VS patients with SHL are associated with a younger age at onset, lower Koos grade, high-frequency hearing loss and higher postoperative residual hearing preservation, indicating SHL could be one of the important factors for predicting postoperative residual hearing preservation.