 Introduction/Background Clinical assessment and audiometric testing can determine the type of hearing loss as conductive, sensorineural, or mixed [1,2] and guide the appropriateness of subsequent imaging. Conductive hearing loss results from diseases affecting the conduction of mechanical sound wave energy to the hair cells of the organ of Corti within the cochlea. These serve as the auditory receptors, converting the mechanical energy of sound waves into electrical neural impulses that are then transmitted along the auditory pathways to the auditory cortex [1]. Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by diseases that impair the cochlear function or the transmission of electrical signal along the auditory pathway, including the cranial nerve nucleus in the brainstem through the superior olive, inferior colliculus, medial geniculate body of the thalamus, and auditory cortex in the temporal lobe. Given the proximity of the cranial nerves and their nuclei, disorders that affect hearing may also affect vestibular function and vice versa. The vestibule and semicircular canals are the end organs responsible for balance and equilibrium. Central vestibular pathways involve extensive connections between the vestibular nuclei within the brainstem and the cerebellum, extraocular nuclei, and spinal cord. Vertigo is a sensation that you or the environment around you is moving or spinning. Although vertigo often indicates dysfunction of the vestibule or semicircular canals, patients commonly report dizziness, a less specific term that may imply disequilibrium, light- headedness, or presyncope [3-5]. Accordingly, imaging workup in these patients may require assessment for disease processes that produce symptoms reported as dizziness rather than vertigo.
Hearing Loss and or Vertigo.  Introduction/Background Clinical assessment and audiometric testing can determine the type of hearing loss as conductive, sensorineural, or mixed [1,2] and guide the appropriateness of subsequent imaging. Conductive hearing loss results from diseases affecting the conduction of mechanical sound wave energy to the hair cells of the organ of Corti within the cochlea. These serve as the auditory receptors, converting the mechanical energy of sound waves into electrical neural impulses that are then transmitted along the auditory pathways to the auditory cortex [1]. Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by diseases that impair the cochlear function or the transmission of electrical signal along the auditory pathway, including the cranial nerve nucleus in the brainstem through the superior olive, inferior colliculus, medial geniculate body of the thalamus, and auditory cortex in the temporal lobe. Given the proximity of the cranial nerves and their nuclei, disorders that affect hearing may also affect vestibular function and vice versa. The vestibule and semicircular canals are the end organs responsible for balance and equilibrium. Central vestibular pathways involve extensive connections between the vestibular nuclei within the brainstem and the cerebellum, extraocular nuclei, and spinal cord. Vertigo is a sensation that you or the environment around you is moving or spinning. Although vertigo often indicates dysfunction of the vestibule or semicircular canals, patients commonly report dizziness, a less specific term that may imply disequilibrium, light- headedness, or presyncope [3-5]. Accordingly, imaging workup in these patients may require assessment for disease processes that produce symptoms reported as dizziness rather than vertigo.