High-field MRI of the inner ear in sensorineural hearing loss

Over the last decades treatment options for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have greatly improved thanks to new insights into pathophysiology and development of new technologies, e.g. radiosurgery or implantable electronic devices. Due to such advancements there is a growing interest in very detailed evaluation of the inner ear and central auditory pathway in vivo. Such detailed information can be obtained with ultra high field MRI. Yet, the technical complexity accompanying higher magnetic field strengths and the particular anatomic configuration of the temporal bone with many air-bone-fluid interfaces giving cause to artifacts, make 7T imaging of the inner ear and retrocochlear structures demanding. Previously we’ve shown that 7T imaging of the inner ear is feasible, but further improvement and/or extension of the scan protocol is required to meet the needs for therapy planning and therapy monitoring in hearing loss.
This study is a prospective observational study to develop and improve new and existing MR sequences for inner ear imaging at 7T and to investigate the clinical added value of 7T imaging (in comparison to 3T imaging)

Image quality on 7T outperforms lower field MRI for patient care and/or clinical research.

Participants of this study will undergo medium field MRI (1.5T or 3T) as part of their clinical work-up and an additional 7T MRI
Diagnostic value will be evaluated in comparison to other available imaging studies and/or preoperative findings and/or performance outcome and/or anatomical studies and/or literature values.