The effect of active rheumatoid arthritis on hearing impairment.

Abstract

To assess hearing loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and to explore its association with disease attributes and activity. The cross-sectional case-control study was conducted from June to December 2022 at Al-Imamein Al- Kadhimein Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq, and comprised rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls of either gender aged 18-45 years. Data was collected using electronic instruments and a physical examination, including pure tone audiometry and tympanogram. Data was analysed using SPSS 24. Of the 90 subjects, 60(66.7%) were patients; 45(75%) female and 15(25%) males with mean age 32.9 1±7.21 years and mean body mass index 27.14±8.58kg/m2. There were 30(33.3%) controls; 18(60%) female and 12(40%) males with mean age 30.25±5.51 years and mean body mass index 26.92±6.66kg/m2. The control group had thresholds below 25dB for all frequencies in both ears, which were notably lower than those of the RA patients (p=0.005). The left ear showed significant variation at 2000Hz and 4000Hz, while the right ear showed substantial differences at all frequencies except 1000Hz. The risk of hearing loss was found to be increased in rheumatoid arthritis patients, and it seemed to be related to illness duration.