Risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in patients with common preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment: a population-based study in Taiwan.

Malcolm Koo,Juen-Haur Hwang,Jonathan I Matsui

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121190

Malcolm Koo, Juen-Haur Hwang + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121190

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Abstract

ObjectiveThe role of preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment on the risk for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the risk of SSHL in patients with common preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment using population-based data.MethodsA population-based case-control study design was used to analyze claims data between January 2001 and December 2011 obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The cases consisted of 514 patients with SSHL and the controls were frequency matched to 2,570 cases by sex, 10-year age group, and year of index date. Common sensorineural hearing impairments were retrospectively assessed in the cases and controls. Associations between sensorineural hearing impairment and risk of SSHL were evaluated using unconditional univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.ResultsThe mean age for the 3,084 study subjects was 53.1 years (standard deviation, S.D. = 15.6). Of the 514 cases, 49 (9.5%) had sensorineural hearing impairment while only 44 (1.7%) of the 2,570 controls had the same condition. Univariate logistic regression analyses indicated that preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment was significantly associated with SSHL (odds ratio, OR = 6.05, p < 0.001). Other comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia also showed significant associations with SSHL. Similar results were obtained when the association between SSHL and sensorineural hearing impairment was adjusted with either all the covariates (adjusted OR = 6.22, p < 0.001) or with only those selected using a backward elimination procedure (adjusted OR = 6.20, p < 0.001).ConclusionsResults from this population-based case-control study revealed that common sensorineural hearing impairment might be a novel risk factor for SSHL.

Highlights

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is defined as a loss of 30 dB or more in three contiguous frequencies over less than three days
Was adjusted with either all the covariates or with only those selected using a backward elimination procedure. Results from this population-based case-control study revealed that common sensorineural hearing impairment might be a novel risk factor for SSHL
Since a number of common etiologies can account for both of SSHL and common sensorineural hearing impairment, such as cardiovascular diseases [4, 10, 11], and chronic kidney disease (CKD) with diabetes mellitus (DM) [8], it is reasonable to hypothesize that common sensorineural hearing impairment may increase the risk of SSHL

Summary

Introduction

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is defined as a loss of 30 dB or more in three contiguous frequencies over less than three days It can be an isolated symptom or a presenting symptom of systemic diseases. Hypoxic preconditioning had been shown to protect some strains of mice from noise-induced hearing loss [12] and sound preconditioning could inhibit ototoxic hearing loss in mice [13]. If this is the case, it may be hypothesized that common sensorineural hearing impairment can decrease the risk of SSHL. To gain a further understanding of the above possible and opposite hypotheses, we used data from a nationwide claims database to investigate the risk of SSHL in patients diagnosed with common sensorineural hearing impairment

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