Background
Clinical research, together with computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging findings,
proves that ischemic stroke (IS) that damages auditory pathways can cause hearing
loss and impairment of higher auditory processes such as sound localization. The goal
of the study was to find possible correlations between the IS risk factors, ischemic
lesion volume and localization, neurologic status, and the sound localization capability
in acute IS patients.
Methods
We consecutively enrolled 61 IS patients into the study. The control group consisted
of 60 healthy volunteers. All neuro-otological evaluations were performed up to 30 days
from the incidence of stroke. All the subjects underwent the horizontal minimum audible
angle test (HMAAT) and standard tonal and speech audiometric assessments.
Results
HMMAT results were significantly worse in the IS patients and were present in 82.0%
of the patients. There were more patients with unilateral disturbances than with bilateral
ones (54.1% versus 27.9%). It was the characteristics of the ischemic lesions that
correlated strongly with the sound localization deterioration, that is, their bilateral
(the 90° azimuth, P = .018; the 180°, P = .002), multiple (the 45°, P = .020; the 180°, P = .007; the 225°, P = .047), and lacunar character (the 90°, P = .015; the 225°, P = .042). Differences in the types of HMAAT results were significant for lesions in
the frontal and the temporal lobe (P = .018 and P = .040). In addition, worse sound localization ability was more common in patients
with poor speech discrimination and the bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. We have
not found statistically significant correlations for other analyzed factors such as
the cortical/subcortical character of the lesions, the patients' neurologic status,
and cerebrovascular risk factors.
Conclusions
Sound localization impairment is common in IS patients and it is the multiple, bilateral,
and lacunar character of the ischemic lesions that seems to be strongly positively
correlated with the disturbance of the sound localization ability.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2015
Accepted:
May 1,
2015
Received in revised form:
April 14,
2015
Received:
February 3,
2015
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2015.05.001
Copyright
© 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
