Cortical deafness following embolic strokes

Cortical deafness is exceedingly rare and is caused by bilateral failure of the auditory cortices, due to structural damage such as ischaemic stroke, while the peripheral and brainstem auditory structures remain unaffected. We describe a woman who acutely developed bilateral neurosensorial hypoacusis following a bilateral cardioembolic ischaemic stroke, due to takotsubo cardiomyopathy, affecting the primary auditory areas of the temporal lobes. She partially recovered over several months, with noticeably improved auditory function and gradual normalisation of auditory brainstem responses and evoked potentials. Her language comprehension markedly improved, with substantially enhanced ability to process and understand spoken language. Nevertheless, mild language impairments persisted. We explore the neurophysiological assessment of cortical deafness and its prognosis.