ABSTRACT
Objective BOLD-fMRI was used to observe the activated auditory cortex evoked by pure tone stimuli in patients with sensorineural hearing loss and this paper is to discuss the objective measure for patient with sensorineural hearing toss. Methods BOLD-fMRI examinations were taken in 22 patients with unilateral moderate to severe sensorneural hearing loss and 15 control subjects. The volumes and intensities of the two hemispheres of the activated auditory cortex were analyzed quantitatively. Results Significant activation was found in the temporal lobe in control subjects, and significant differences in the volume and intensity were noted between the contralateral and ipsilateral activated auditory cortexes in them (P<0.01), exhibiting clearly eontralateral predominance. When the normal ear of patients with sensorineural hearing loss received signals, there was no significant difference be-tween contralateral and ipsilateral activated auditory cortexes (P>0.05). Conclusion When the normal ear of pa-tients with sensorneural hearing loss was stimulated by pure tone, the contralateral hemisphere predominance disap-peared. This result seems to show the plasticity of auditory cortex of patients with unilateral hearing loss.