Abstract
Patients with acoustic neuroma classified in Gardner and Robertson (GR) Class II should
be considered to have useful hearing, and patients classified in Class III should
be considered to have not-useful hearing. Therefore, it is important for acoustic
neuroma surgery to distinguish between postoperative GR Class II and Class III patients
by brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs). We evaluate which BAEP parameter
is the best for predicting postoperative GR Class II or III in 36 preoperative GR
Class II patients with unilateral acoustic neuroma. Delay in wave V latency, reduction
ratio in wave V amplitude, and interaural difference of wave V (IT5) are evaluated
by a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve in this study. IT5 is the best
distinguishing parameter between postoperative Class II and Class III. IT5 below 1.12
millisecond (msec) should be a good marker to preserve postoperative useful hearing.
Thus, comparing the latency of wave V on both sides is important, and surgeons would
be able to make more informed decisions during surgery by checking IT5 on BAEPs.
Keywords
acoustic neuroma - brainstem auditory evoked potentials - useful hearing - interaural
difference of wave V