Evaluation of hematological parameters of patients with profound unilateral and mild to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether changes in blood cells have an effect on sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and compare the hematological parameters of profound unilateral and mild to profound bilateral SNHL patients and the normal population. METHODS: This retrospective study included 100 SNHL patients (81 males, 19 females; mean age: 37.8±16.8 years; range, 18 to 83 years) and 32 healthy volunteers (22 males, 10 females; mean age: 32.8±5.7 years; range 22 to 46 years) between January 2018 and February 2019. Patients who underwent pure tone audiometry and auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests for any reason and were found to have SNHL with no accompanying disease, and those that are non-smokers and without medication were included. Hematological parameters were evaluated in all three groups. RESULTS: Of the 100 SNHL patients, 59 had bilateral and 41 had profound unilateral SNHL. Among the evaluated hematological parameters, the difference in red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, platelet distribution width, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Erythrocyte values were high in patients with profound unilateral SNHL, whereas platelet-related values [platelet count, PDW, and platelet to lymphocyte ratio) were higher in patients with bilateral SNHL. In addition, the NLR was found to be high in these patient groups. These findings may provide a treatment target, particularly for profound unilateral SNHL, and may shed light on further studies on SNHL.