Otolaryngology >>>> Cochlear neuritis - symptoms and treatments

Cochlear neuritis - symptoms and treatments.

Cochlear neuritis (sensorineural hearing loss, neuritis of the auditory nerve) - damage to the auditory analyzer, leading to partial or complete hearing loss. The disease is caused by congenital defects or injuries of various origins of the sensory - epithelial cells of the inner ear, the vestibular cochlear nerve or auditory centers in the brain.

The reasons for the development of cochlear neuritis are varied. Hearing analyzer malfunctions can be congenital or acquired.

Congenital sensorineural hearing loss, as a rule, is associated with genetic disorders, fetal hypoxia or birth trauma, can be an independent disease or be a symptom of a number of different congenital disorders: Pendred syndrome, Usher syndrome, Refsum disease, Alport syndrome, Wegener granulomatosis.

Acquired cochlear neuritis can be triggered by:

acoustic trauma,
barrotrauma,
an infectious disease,
chronic inflammation of the inner ear,
mechanical or chemical injury,
toxic damage (drugs, heavy metal salts),
surgical trauma,
an allergic reaction,
tumors,
aging processes of the body,
harmful working conditions and the environment (vibration, noise), circulatory disorders, stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension, vascular thrombosis.

Cochlear neuritis signs:

Decreased hearing,
The appearance of noise in the ear,
Impaired sound perception (speech is indistinguishable),
Feeling of a stuffy ear,
Violations of the vestibular apparatus (dizziness, nausea, urge to vomit).

Diagnosis of cochlar neuritis is carried out by electrocochleography, audiometry (detecting the degree of hearing loss), otoscopy, and studies of the work of the vestibular apparatus. If necessary, X-ray examination of the skull, MRI of the brain are performed, and the patency of the blood vessels of the neck and head is examined.

Treatment of cochlear neuritis depends on the identified disorders, the elimination of which is the focus of therapy. Drug treatment is carried out with vasodilating drugs (Piracetam, Emoxipin, Trental, Cerebrolysin), neuroprotectors, antiplatelet agents. In inflammatory processes, glucocorticosteroids are used.

To stimulate the auditory nerve, cochlear implantation is used - the installation of an electronic device in the cochlea to stimulate the structures of the auditory nerve.

Surgical treatment involves the removal of tumors, hematomas, operations on the cochlea, resection of the stellate ganglion, cervical sympathectomy.