The comparative characteristics of the otoneurological disorders and of the computed and magnetic resonance tomographic data in tumors of the pineal area

: A hundred and twenty patients with pineal tumors were examined and analyzed. All the patients underwent detailed otoneurological examination supplemented by vocal and tone audiometry, electronystagmography. Computerized tomography (CT) with contrast reinforcement was made in all the patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted in 43 patients. Based on the findings, otoneurological symptomatology and CT and MRI data were compared. All the patients were divided into 4 groups by the size of a tumor and by the magnitude of its impact, as evidenced by CT and MRI. Comparing the findings, it can be concluded that with larger pineal tumors and the increased decompensation of a process there is a steady rise in the incidence of some otoneurological symptoms. Nevertheless, there is a clear relationship of otoneurological manifestations to the predominant growth of pineal tumors into the diencephalic area or into the posterior cranial fossa, by affecting truncal cochleovestibular formations and tumor sizes.