Emergency Unilateral Cochlear Implantation in Sudden Bilateral Severe-to-Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss After Temporal Bone Fracture: A Case Report

We report the case of a 34-year-old male with bilateral deafness, acute vestibular syndrome, right-sided facial paralysis, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and hemorraghic otorrhea after blunt high-impact temporal bone trauma. Imaging demonstrated a right-sided mixed temporal bone fracture with involvement of the otic capsule without disruption of the vestibulocochlear nerves while audiometric testing confirmed bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss. An urgent subtotal petrosectomy was performed to control bleeding from the jugular bulb, manage the cerebrospinal fluid leakage, decompress the facial nerve in the tympanic segment, and perform cochlear implantation due to the risk of cochlear fibrosis. The short-term outcome with regard to hearing, speech understanding, and balance is reported.