Background: Hearing loss is the most common sensory-neurological defect in human. The most common hearing impairment is sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), in which the disorder is caused by the inner ...ear and related nerves. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced MRI technique that can provide valuable information about auditory neural pathways and their microstructural changes. Aims: The present study was designed to investigate the microstructural changes of auditory pathways-related fiber tracts in children with SNHL. Methods: A number of 22 children including 11 subjects with SNHL aged 1-4 years and 11 healthy children were examined as controls. Then DTI-derived parameters such as FA, MD, RD, AxD and volume characteristics of fiber tracts were extracted in Inferior longitudinal fasciculus, acoustic radiation, and uncinate fasciculus. Findings: The results showed an increase in MD, RD, and AxD as well as a decrease in FA, volume, and diameter of auditory-pathway related fiber tracts. Interestingly, there is an increase in FA parameter of AR (Acoustic Radiation). Discussion and Conclusion: According to the findings, white matter connections in the auditory canal have decreased and integrity of the AR has increased due to compensatory effects. These probably reflect atrophy or degradation as well as compensatory cross-modal reorganization in the absenceof the auditory input and the use of the sign language.
