English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) encloses a continuum of pathophysiological processes associated with deranged kidney function and a progressive decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). There are many anatomic similitudes between cochlea and kidney at an ultra-structural level and antigenic level along with comparable physiological mechanisms, specifically, the active fluid and electrolytes transport in the cochlea and the kidney. The purpose of the present study was to determine the proportion, type and degree of hearing loss in patients with renal disease and its comparison according to the stage of CKD. METHODS The study was conducted on 60 patients of chronic kidney disease labelled as stage 3, 4 and 5 on the basis of GFR. An audiogram charted by pure tone audiometry was used to find the degree of hearing loss and its comparison in patients with moderate, severe and end stage CKD was done. The data was collected and analysed statistically. RESULTS The mean age of patients was 55.58 +/- 11.36 years and the mean duration of CKD was 15.61 months. 90 % patients of CKD had sensorineural hearing loss while 10 % had hearing sensitivity within normal limits. In the present study, mild degree hearing loss and high frequency hearing loss was found to be predominant constituting 68.3 % (n = 41) and 58.3 % (n = 35) respectively. Mild degree of hearing loss was a predominant finding irrespective of the stage and duration of CKD. CONCLUSIONS Sensorineural hearing loss was found predominantly amongst the CKD patients in our study population. Mild degree hearing loss was predominant but there was no correlation between stage of CKD and degree of hearing loss. While there was a significant correlation between degree of hearing loss with duration and haemodialysis amongst the non-diabetic CKD patients. KEYWORDS Chronic Kidney Disease, Sensorineural Hearing Loss