Modiolar ossification in paediatric patients with auditory neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe our finding of increased ossification of the modiolus in paediatric patients with auditory neuropathy who met criteria for cochlear implantation.

METHODS: A retrospective case series with a comparison group at a tertiary referral centre is described. Seven paediatric patients with auditory neuropathy who met criteria for and underwent cochlear implantation were identified. Fifteen paediatric implantees with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss were included as the comparison group. All patients underwent pre-operative computed tomography. Attenuation at the modiolus was measured in all subjects by a neuroradiologist blinded to clinical information.

RESULTS: Attenuation values in the modiolus in the auditory neuropathy patients (mean ± standard deviation = 796.2 ± 53.0 HU) was statistically significantly higher than in the comparison sensorineural hearing loss patients (267.1 ± 45.6 HU; p < 0.05, t-test).

CONCLUSION: Patients with auditory neuropathy who meet criteria for cochlear implantation demonstrate significantly higher modiolar attenuation on computed tomography imaging, consistent with increased ossification at the modiolus.