/Objectives : Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) placement alters cerebrospinal (CSF) dynamics and has been associated with hearing changes through pressure transmission via the cochlear aqueduct. Despite the large number of patients undergoing VPS placement annually, associated hearing changes remain poorly characterized....
Audiologists should be aware that ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement may alter hearing, but scoping review evidence is insufficient to recommend routine audiological monitoring protocols — clinicians should flag patients with new hearing symptoms post-shunt.
Understanding how neurosurgical procedures affecting cerebrospinal fluid dynamics can impact cochlear function broadens the audiologist's awareness of medically complex patients.
- 01Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt placement can change inner-ear fluid pressure via the cochlear aqueduct.
- 02Scoping review maps the existing literature on hearing changes post-shunt, not a meta-analysis of effect sizes.
- 03Both improvements and deteriorations in hearing have been reported following shunt surgery.
- 04Findings are relevant for audiologists managing patients with hydrocephalus or other CSF disorders.
- 05Evidence base is limited; no consensus clinical protocol for post-shunt audiological monitoring exists.
Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement can alter hearing outcomes through changed cerebrospinal fluid pressure transmitted via the cochlear aqueduct.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42279186
- DOI
- 10.3390/jcm15114325.
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Publication type
- review
- Evidence level
- 2a
- Population
- Patients undergoing ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement
- Intervention
- Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement
Primary outcomes
Hearing outcome changes following VP shunt surgery; Relationship between cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and cochlear function