Abstract
Background. Our study aimed to investigate an association between ocular pseudoexfoliation (PXF) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and to compare them with age and sex matched controls without pseudoexfoliation. Method. This was a case-control study of 123 patients which included 68 cases with PXF (at least one eye) and 55 controls without pseudoexfoliation. Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was done for these patients at sound frequencies taken as important for speech comprehension, that is, 250 Hertz (Hz), 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz. Results. There were 41 patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXE) and 27 with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXEG). The majority of patients with hearing loss (60%; n = 51) were PXF patients and the remaining 40% (n = 34) were controls. Below average hearing thresholds were significantly higher in the pseudoexfoliation group compared to the control group (P = 0.01; odds ratio (OR), 3.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25–7.19). However, there was no significant difference in the mean hearing threshold levels between the three groups (PXE, PXEG, and controls) in either ear (ANOVA, right ear: P = 0.46 and left ear P = 0.36). Conclusion. Our study found an association between PXF and SNHL, confirming that PXF can involve organs in the body other than the eye.
Highlights
Our study aimed to investigate an association between ocular pseudoexfoliation (PXF) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and to compare them with age and sex matched controls without pseudoexfoliation
Inclusion criteria for case group were male and female adults diagnosed with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXE) syndrome or glaucoma in either eye, while the control group was patients without ocular pseudoexfoliation matched for age and gender
There was no significant relation found between gender and hearing loss (P = 0.1, odds ratio: 0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.2, 1.3))
Summary
Our study aimed to investigate an association between ocular pseudoexfoliation (PXF) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and to compare them with age and sex matched controls without pseudoexfoliation. This was a case-control study of 123 patients which included 68 cases with PXF (at least one eye) and 55 controls without pseudoexfoliation. Pseudoexfoliation (PXF) is an age-related systemic condition characterized by the production and accumulation of abnormal fibrillar extracellular material [1]. Worldwide distribution of this condition varies, being more common in the Scandinavian countries. Ocular pseudoexfoliation is recognized as a systemic disease as these materials have been found in other parts of the body, namely, the skin, vascular structures, and visceral organs such as the kidney, heart, lungs, and gall bladder as well as in the inner ear [3, 4]. The tectorial and basilar membranes of the inner ear, like the anterior segment structures of the eye, are derived from the neural ectoderm
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