Association between pseudoexfoliation syndrome and sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate the sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in patients with pseudoexfoliation (PXF) syndrome and its correlation with clinical ophthalmological findings.MethodsA total of 25 patients with PXF and 15 age-matched and sex-matched normal controls were subjected to complete ophthalmological and audiological evaluation. The degree of hearing loss was compared between the two groups and correlated with the clinical findings including glaucoma, cataract, and laterality of PXS. The independent-sample Mann-Whitney U-test, the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance, the related-sample McNemar test and Pearson's correlation were used for statistical analysis.ResultsA total of 22 patients had bilateral symmetrical SNHL. Overall, three ears (6%) had normal hearing sensitivity, 29 ears (58%) had mild SNHL, 15 ears (30%) had moderate SNHL, and three ears (6%) had moderately severe SNHL. On an average, patients had mild degree of SNHL in the frequencies 250-2000 Hz, moderate degree of SNHL in the frequency 4000 Hz, and moderately severe SNHL in the frequency 8000 Hz. SNHL was not affected by the association of cataract or glaucoma. A total of 28 ears of the controls had mild degree of hearing loss and two ears had normal hearing sensitivity.ConclusionThe prevalence and severity of SNHL increases in cases of PXF compared with age-matched controls. This is not affected by the laterality of ocular involvement, or the presence or absence of cataract or glaucoma. This confirms the systemic nature of the disease and may add to difficulties during ophthalmic surgery when performed under local anesthesia due to difficulty in communication.