Abstract
Background: Hearing impairment (HI) is a major problem in Ghana; however, the few attempts at shedding light on its causes appear to overlook the adverse effects of some medications—a gap that this study sought to fill. Aminoglycoside therapy for tuberculosis (TB) treatment is one of these medications. Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the potential of aminoglycoside as a cause of hearing impairment among patients on anti-TB treatment. Method: This was a case–control study, involving patients receiving treatment for TB with aminoglycoside at the chest clinic of the Tema General Hospital and a control group of age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers. A structured questionnaire was administered to obtain the demographic data and case history of the participants. The hearing sensitivity of the participants was assessed using conventional pure tone audiometry and transient evoked otoacoustic emission tests. Results: A hearing loss prevalence of 20% (12/60) was found among patients receiving treatment for TB, with the intensity of impairment ranging from mild to severe. Hearing thresholds of patients receiving anti-TB medications were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in comparison to the thresholds of the control group, especially at the high frequencies. Conclusion: This study shows that aminoglycoside therapy for tuberculosis may contribute to hearing impairment among tuberculosis patients in Ghana. Audiological management of these patients should therefore be an essential part of their therapeutic treatment plan.
Highlights
Hearing impairment (HI) is one of the notable disabling conditions of significant global health concern that can have a detrimental effect on a country’s socio-economic development, if not addressed properly
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1], unless action is taken, by 2030 there will be nearly 630 million people with disabling hearing loss, and by 2050, the number could rise to over 900 million. This is evident in Ghana, where a report from Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital (KATH) showed that there is an overall increase in the number of patients with hearing loss who visited the hospital between 1999 and 2004 [2]
Participants who presented with pulmonary TB in the treatment group were more prevalent (n = 49, 81.7%) compared to those who presented with extra-pulmonary TB (n = 11, 18.3%)
Summary
Hearing impairment (HI) is one of the notable disabling conditions of significant global health concern that can have a detrimental effect on a country’s socio-economic development, if not addressed properly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1], unless action is taken, by 2030 there will be nearly 630 million people with disabling hearing loss, and by 2050, the number could rise to over 900 million This is evident in Ghana, where a report from Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital (KATH) showed that there is an overall increase in the number of patients with hearing loss who visited the hospital between 1999 and 2004 [2]. After investigating the characteristics of hearing impairment among patients in Ghana, Amedofu et al [2] showed that factors such as noise, meningococcal meningitis, presbycusis, mumps, and Meniere’s disease were the major causes of sensorineural HI. Audiological management of these patients should be an essential part of their therapeutic treatment plan
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