Non-syndromic bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueducts in two siblings

Abstract 

Enlarged vestibular aqueduct is one of the most frequent inner ear malformations with early manifested sensorineural hearing loss. It is often associated with Pendred syndrome. The non-syndromic familial enlarged vestibular aqueduct entity is less described with only a few cases reported in the literature. It is thought to be a varying presentation on the phenotypic spectrum of genetic mutation in the same locus of chromosome 7q31. The familial inheritance has been suspected to be autosomal recessive. In this case report, we present a patient who presented to the clinic with hearing loss after blunt head trauma with a soccer ball. Suspected enlarged vestibular aqueduct was confirmed to be bilateral on CT scan of the temporal bones. Additional inquiry into the family history revealed that her sister also had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at an early age. Unpredictably, bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueducts were confirmed in the sister with similar imaging modality. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment strategies are reviewed along with the current literature.

Keywords: Enlarged vestibular aqueduct, Familial, Hearing loss, Non-syndromic