High Prevalence Of Sensorineural Hearing Loss Research Articles

Cognitive Function in Acquired Bilateral Vestibulopathy: A Cross-Sectional Study on Cognition, Hearing, and Vestibular Loss.

BackgroundSeveral studies have demonstrated cognitive deficits in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP). So far, little attention has been paid to the hearing status of vestibular patients when evaluating their cognition. Given the well-established link between sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and cognitive decline and the high prevalence of SNHL in BVP patients, it is therefore uncertain if the cognitive deficits in BVP patients are solely due to their vestibular loss or might be, partially, explained by a concomitant SNHL.ObjectiveTo evaluate the link between cognition, hearing, and vestibular loss in BVP patients.DesignProspective cross-sectional analysis of cognitive performance in patients with BVP and control participants without vestibular loss. Both groups included subjects with a variety of hearing (dys)function. Cognition was assessed by means of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status for Hearing Impaired Individuals (RBANS-H).ResultsSixty-four BVP patients were evaluated and compared with 83 control participants. For each subscale and the totale RBANS-H scale a multiple linear regression model was fitted with the following variables: vestibular loss, hearing loss, age, gender, and education. Hearing loss seemed to be associated with worse outcome on the total RBANS-H scale and subscales immediate memory and language. Vestibular loss, on the other hand, was linked to worse performance on the attention subscale of the RBANS-H. Furthermore, we did not observe a correlation between saccular function and cognition.ConclusionThis study has found general cognitive deficits in a large sample size of BVP patients. Multiple linear regression models revealed that both vestibular and hearing dysfunction were associated with different subscales of the cognitive test battery, the RBANS-H. Whereas hearing loss was associated with worse performance on total RBANS-H score, immediate memory and language, vestibular loss was observed to negatively affect attention performance.

Adolescent Obesity Is an Independent Risk Factor for Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2010

We investigated the hypothesis that childhood obesity is a risk factor for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) independent of other metabolic risk factors. A complex, multistage, stratified geographic area design for collecting representative data from noninstitutionalized US population. A total of 5,638 adolescents between age 12 and 19 from the NHANES database (2005-2010) were studied. Subjects with body mass index >= 95th percentile were classified as obese. SNHL was defined as average pure-tone greater than 15 dB HL for 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz or 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz in at least 1 ear. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed incident hearing loss odds across obese patients in comparison with normal weight individuals (5th-85th percentile). Multivariable models included age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, smoke exposure, high density lipoprotein level, triglyceride level, elevated blood pressure measurement, hemoglobin A1C level, and C-reactive protein level. The rate of SNHL was 21.5% in obese and 13.44% in normal weight adolescents (p < 0.0001). In multivariable analyses, obesity was associated with 1.73-fold increase in the odds of SNHL (95% CI: 1.25-2.40, p value = 0.006). Potentially confounding and mediating factors had minimal effect on the odds of SNHL in obese study participants (OR range of 1.69-1.75, all p values <= 0.01). Obesity is associated with higher prevalence of SNHL in adolescents independent of other potential risk factors. Future longitudinal investigations and mechanistic studies are warranted.

Immunology-Rheumatology Approach to Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and vestibular dysfunction have been described in various autoimmune disorders and systemic vasculitides. A high prevalence of SNHL is reported to occur in established rheumatologic diseases; however, immunologic and rheumatologic disorders make up a small proportion of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). This prospective study was carried out in order to determine the prevalence of rheumatologic and immunologic disorders in patients with SSNHL in Northeast Iran. Patients with a diagnosis of SSNHL referred to our University Hospital were enrolled in this prospective study conducted over a period of 3 years. Immunology-rheumatology evaluations were performed in all patients, including detailed history, physical exams and laboratory tests such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (PR3, c-ANCA), perinuclear anti neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (p-ANCA), antiphospholipid antibody, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP), and complement proteins C3 and C4. Eighty-three patients with a mean age of 42.04±16.94 years were admitted into the study. The female-to-male ratio was 47% to 53%. ANA was positive in one patient, RF in six, p-ANCA in two, ACCP in one, and antiphospholipid antibody was positive in three patients with low titers. No diagnosis of rheumatologic diseases was detected, except for one patient who was diagnosed with primary Sjögren's syndrome. Fewer than 5% all cases had specific positive immunologic tests. The low frequency of immunology-rheumatology positive tests and disorders in our patients with SSNHL indicates that it is not reasonable to routinely perform all related tests for every patient. Instead, clinical evaluations should be used to decide whether or not to conduct these tests.

Prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss among type-II diabetes mellitus patients attending KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and MRC: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important healthcare concern in the modern world. This disease and its complications can affect virtually every system in the human body. A possible complication of DM is sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). AIM: The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SNHL among the patients of type-2 DM attending the hospital as well as to correlate the severity of hearing loss to the duration of diabetes and the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. A total of 125 known cases of type-2 DM were included in the study. METHODOLOGY: For each patient, a detailed history was taken, thorough clinical ear, nose, and throat examination was done, hearing thresholds were evaluated by means of pure tone audiometry and HbA1c levels were measured. RESULTS: SNHL was seen in 76.8% of the patients. Robust correlation was seen between the severity of SNHL and the duration of DM (P CONCLUSION: This study confirms that there is a high prevalence of SNHL in type-2 DM.

The role of routine hearing screening in children with cystic fibrosis on aminoglycosides: A systematic review.

To review the role of routine hearing screening for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have been on aminoglycoside therapy. PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Ovid databases. A systematic review of the literature was performed in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed from 1970 to 2014. Randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, cohort studies, and case series including pediatric subjects with baseline auditory evaluations were included. Twelve studies (1979-2014) were reviewed. The study population included 762 children (5 months-20 years). Hearing screening measures included pure-tone audiometry (PTA) at standard ± high frequency threshold (HFPTA) (12/12), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) (4/12), transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (1/12), and automated auditory brainstem response (1/12). The overall prevalence of SNHL ranged from 0% to 29%. However, on subset analysis of children with greater than 10 courses of intravenous (IV) aminoglycosides, up to 44% had SNHL. Eight studies recommended hearing screening in CF children on aminoglycosides; of these, two studies recommended screening even without aminoglycoside exposure, and four studies made no recommendations. HFPTA was the most commonly recommended screening measure followed by DPOAEs. This systematic review supports a recommendation for clinicians to perform routine hearing screening in children with CF during and after aminoglycoside exposure based on the high prevalence of SNHL in this population. Future studies should define the optimal timing for hearing screening during and after aminoglycoside therapy in children with CF.