Prevalence of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome in Patients with Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Abstract

Background: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is a complex systemic disorder of the extracellular matrix primarily affecting the eye and visceral organs. In this age-related disease fibrillar extracellular material is produced and accumulates in many ocular and extraocular tissues. Objective: To study the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome among patients with sensorineural hearing loss. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted on 50 patients with sensorineural hearing loss at the departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology of Aswan University Hospital, was performed among patients aged 50 years and older and both sexes were included while patients with a history of acute ear disease, head trauma, long term exposure to heavy noise, intake of ototoxic drugs and chronic suppurative otitis media (cholesteatoma) were excluded. Results: The prevalence of PEX among SNHL patients was estimated in the current study as 36%. The mean age was 61 (±7.1) years and ranged from 50 to 77 years old. The majority of participants (35 patients, 70%) were female. Thirty-three patients (66%) of participants had chronic co-morbidities. Unilateral PEX was represented by 10 patients (55.6%), while bilateral PEX was represented by 8 patients (44.4%). Conclusion: This study establishes the reciprocal association between pseudoexfoliation and sensorineural hearing loss. The main reason for this association remains unclear although the infiltrative nature of PEX can still explain this concurrence.