Auditory function in raised intracranial pressure

Pineal Region Tumor Manifesting Initially as Hearing Impairment. Case Report.

“…2) Therefore, hearing impairment could develop due to involvement of the central auditory pathway directly by pineal region tumor, but such auditory symptoms are rarely observed, possibly due to the extensive interconnections and bilateral innervations of the brainstem auditory structures. 2,17) Moreover, hearing impairment usually occurs late in the disease history of pineal region tumor. 12) The incidental diagnosis rate is also high.…”

“…12) The incidental diagnosis rate is also high. 8,17) A series of 309 patients with brainstem tumors found only 8% complained of hearing impairment, but 59% actually suffered from measurable hearing loss. 7) Thirteen of 72 patients had hearing impairment associated with pineal region tumor, and the hearing impairment may have resulted from displacement of the quadrigeminal plate and geniculate bodies by the tumor, 8) as found in an autopsy study.…”

“…2,18) Intracranial hypertension was associated with hearing impairment in 81.5% of cases. 17) Hearing impairment also depends on the severity and duration of hydrocephalus and improves after shunt operation (Table 1), [1][2][3]8,9,12,14,15,18) but permanent deafness may result in chronic cases. 2) The nerve trunk may also suffer functional disturbance or anoxia due to transmission of ICP through the sheath from the subarachnoid space.…”

“…2) The nerve trunk may also suffer functional disturbance or anoxia due to transmission of ICP through the sheath from the subarachnoid space. 2,12,17) The conductive type of hearing impairment depends on the patency of the cochlear aqueduct through which ICP is transmitted to the perilymphatic space and affects mobility of the footplate. 2,17) Individual variations in the size and patency of the cochlear duct in people or the sides of the same person reflects the variable transmission of pressure although the increased ICP is uniformly distributed.…”

“…10) The increase in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure may be transmitted to the subarachnoid space surrounding the acoustic nerve and to the perilymphatic space resulting in arrest of the blood supply to the acoustic nerve and impaired movement of the footplate of the stapes. 17) However, auditory symptoms have never been important as a presenting feature in pineal region tumor. We treated a patient with pineal region germinoma manifesting as hearing impairment as the chief complaint.…”