الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Sensorineural hearing loss in children may have congenital causes, such as dysplastic malformations of the inner ear and/or the internal auditory canal, or acqured reasons, such as labyrinthitis .
The final stage of sensorineural hearing loss can be complete deafness. These patients often benefit from cochlear implant surgery.
Candidates for the cochlear implantation undergo preoperative assessment involving clinical, speech therapeutic, psychological, and social criteria. During this stage, imaging of the cochlear region is paramount in defining the etiology of hearing loss, in locating findings that may contraindicate surgery, and within limits in predicting possible complications.
MRI and CT are widely used diagnostic examinations in addition to the clinical examination and audiometric analysis. CT of the temporal bone provides excellent depiction of osseous structures, while MRI enables excellent visualization of soft tissue structures .
Several authors described the effectiveness of MRI with thin-section 3D heavy T2-weighted gradient echo sequences to assess the region of the inner ear. Therefore, many otologists request both CT and MRI as standard procedures in the assessment of patients with sensorineural hearing loss who are potential candidates for cochlear implant surgery.
The visualization of the different changes that affect the region of the inner ear and the internal auditory canal are visible in most cases with CT, but in all cases with thin-section 3D MRI. These facts enhance the important imaging role of MRI in children with sensorineural hearing loss.
Therefore, in addition to CT, 3D MRI, using thin section 3D T2-
weighted sequences should be performed in pediatric patients scheduled for cochlear implant surgery.