January 22, 2021
Keio University School of Medicine
Tokyo Medical Center
A research group led by Senior Lecturer Naoki Oishi of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, and Director Koichiro Wasano of the Auditory Disorders Research Laboratory, National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, conducted a multi-center retrospective observational study on acute hearing loss associated with vestibular schwannoma. The study revealed, as its main findings, that repeated recurrence reduces the recovery rate of hearing loss and that recurrence is observed in 25% of patients within one year.
Furthermore, by comparing their findings with previous reports on sudden sensorineural hearing loss, the study found that acute sensorineural hearing loss associated with vestibular schwannoma is characterized by a younger age of onset, a higher likelihood of recovery with steroid treatment, and a high prevalence of a U-shaped audiogram pattern. Based on these results, the researchers proposed that patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who meet these three criteria should undergo a differential diagnosis, particularly using imaging such as MRI, to rule out vestibular schwannoma.
The success of this study is attributed to the ability to accumulate clinical data from the largest number of cases to date, thanks to the cooperation of many institutions. The results of this study were published in the online edition of "Scientific Reports," from the UK's Nature Publishing Group, on January 21, 2021 (UK time).
For the full press release, please see below.