Search

Asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss (ASHL) is the most common symptom of sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS). However, there is still no universally accepted MRI protocol for diagnosing VS. This study identified the characteristics of pure tone audiogram (PTA) in patients with VS. We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with sporadic unilateral VS. In the analysis, we focused on the shape and interaural differences of PTA, stratified by the mode of onset and patient age. In total, 390 patients met the inclusion criteria. The U-shaped audiogram showed the highest proportion in patients with the onset of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). In patients with SSNHL, U-shaped audiograms were younger than other audiograms, and 86.7 % of patients under 40 had U-shaped audiograms. Patients with VS were more likely to have interaural differences at higher frequencies than at lower frequencies. Patients with SSNHL had a significantly higher percentage of interaural differences at 500–4000 Hz than those with onset other than SSNHL (non-SSNHL patients). In addition, non-SSNHL patients had a significant trend toward a higher percentage of interaural differences at all frequencies with increasing age. MRI screening can be considered in patients with SSNHL with U-shaped audiograms under 40 years of age. In ASHL, not SSNHL, MRI screening can be considered for older patients with interaural differences at wider continuous frequencies. Patients with interaural differences at high frequencies had a higher priority than those with interaural differences at low frequencies as indications for MRI screening for VS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction This study is an attempt to view the demographic profile of individuals presenting with hearing loss in an urban referral hospital with the help of available database of pure tone audiometry results over a three years period. Materials and methods It is adescriptive epidemiologicalstudy over a period of 3 years conducted in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology (ORL) of an urban referral hospital.The subjects presented with a complain of hearing loss were investigated with pure tone audiometry. Subjects below 10 years of age or with gross mental or physical disabilities were excluded. The results of pure tone audiometry done were analyzed followed by systematic analysis. Results A total number of 3536individuals inclusive of1980 males and1556 females were studied. Nearly, 570 individuals suffered B/L hearing loss (16%) which was again mostly Sensori-neural. Sensori-neural hearing loss was the most common hearing loss near about 52%.Mixed Hearing loss accounted for 13%.Conductive hearing loss accounted for 35 %. Mild hearing loss (25-40dB) accounted for maximum bulk of the patients.The bulk of the population comprised of people in their middle age (30-60) and elderly (>60 years). Conclusion The demographic profile of hearing loss in an urban population is the ground work for any comprehensive planning to resolve the issue. In our study the increased burden of mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss as seen in the elderly population and increased prevalence of conductive hearing loss as seen in the young population shows us how respective management protocols can be instituted for the target populations.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to compare the results of toneburst ABR with ASSR in normal hearing individuals. Material and Methods: Thirty (14 females and 16 males) normalhearing students between the age of 18 and 25 from Istanbul Medipol University participated in this study. The acoustic immitansmetry and pure voice audiometry tests were performed on the participants. Then, frequency hearing thresholds between 500-4000 Hz of participants were identified by conducting a tone-burst ABR, and ASSR was carried out. Results: The results indicated that there was no statisticaly significant difference between the Tone-burst ABR and ASSR in the higher tresholds (4000 to 2000 Hz); however when we look at the lower thresholds (1000 to 500 Hz) there was a statistically significant difference between the tone-burst ABR and ASSR. The Spearman correlation coefficients for 4000 Hz in both right and left ear were found 0.125 and 0.70 (p>0.05), respectively; the Spearman correlation coefficients for 2000 Hz in both right and left ear were found 0.92 and 0.692 (p>0.05), respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients for 1000 and 500 Hz in both ears were found 0.0 (p<0.05). Conclusion: Interpreting the results obtained from the tone-burst ABR test and the identifying V. Wave are based on the clinicians' assessments. In ASSR, however, interpreting the results obtained from ASSR are not based on the subjective assessments of the clinicians. This study showed that ASSR provides reliable threshold assessments especially when it is used in the higher frequency areas since it produced similar results with tone-burst ABR along with its short test duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerodynamic noise of a landing gear is an important source of airframe noise. The analysis of its noise characteristics plays an important role in the design of a low-noise landing gear. Based on the FL-52 acoustic wind tunnel test technology, the coupled scale adaptive model and the acoustic disturbance equation, the results on aerodynamic noise of a full-scale landing gear model are analyzed. The high-fidelity model includes transverse strut, torsion arm, piston rod, wheel and other parts. The characteristics of static pressure distribution, power spectrum density of pulsating pressure, aerodynamic noise source distribution and directivity of overall sound pressure level are analyzed. The noise characteristics of the far-field microphone are compared with the local microphone installed in the wheel cavity. In this way, we characterize the directivity of pure tone in the wheel cavity and understand its contribution to the far-field noise. The results show that the aerodynamic noise of the landing gear can be quantified accurately by the hybrid numerical method. The pure tone has two frequencies inside and outside the wheel of the landing gear: 560 Hz and 960 Hz. The peak of the loudest sound pressure level reaches 136 dB, and the pure tone radiates to the surface of the non-separation area of the wheel of the landing gear. However, the wall pressure spectrum of the points located in the turbulence region shows a wide-frequency characteristic, and there is no obvious pure tone. From the point of view of the far-field noise directivity, the forward noise of the landing gear is larger than the rear noise, and there is a small overall sound pressure level area at the points of 65 and 110 degrees respectively. When the monitoring points are far away, the far-field noise of the landing gear shows the characteristics of wide frequency, and no obvious pure tone appears. The method can provide the technical support for predicting the aeroacoustics of a landing gear and designing a low-noise land gear.

The recent advances in Human-Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence have significantly increased the importance of identifying human emotions from different sensory cues. Hence, understanding the underlying relationships between emotions and sensory cues have become a subject of study in many fields including Acoustics, Psychology, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. This work is a preliminary step towards investigating cues for human emotion on a fundamental level by aiming to establish relationships between tonal frequencies of sound and emotions. For that, an online perception test is conducted, in which participants are asked to rate the perceived emotions corresponding to each tone. The results show that a crossover point for four primary emotions lies in the frequency range of 417–440 Hz, thus consolidating the hypothesis that the frequency range of 432–440 Hz is neutral from human emotion perspective. It is also observed that the frequency dependant relationships between emotion pairs Happy—Sad, and Anger—Calm are approximately mirrored symmetric in nature.

Aim:Although there are many treatment options for the treatment sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), the most effective treatment method is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal treatment option for SSHL by examining the 5-years patient data of our clinic.Methods:The patients who were diagnosed as SSHL in our clinic between January 1, 2016 and July 31, 2021 were included in the present study. The treatment in groups were only oral steroid (OS) (group 1, n=30), OS and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) (group 2, n=30), OS and intratympanic steroid therapy (ITS) (group 3, n=30) and OS+ITS+HBOT (group 4, n=30). The baseline pure tone audiometry (PTA), 3rd month PTA averages, audiological hearing gains and treatment success (a gain more than 15 Db in PTA) were determined and compared statistically.Results:The initial PTA averages (dB) in groups were 46.07±14.20, 45±12.49, 45.83±10.92, and 45.93±10.29, respectively. There were significant differences between the groups according to the PTA after treatment (p0.05).Conclusion:In this study, the combined (oral+IT+HBOT) therapy was superior to other treatment modalities.

The recent advances in Human-Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence have significantly increased the importance of identifying human emotions from different sensory cues. Hence, understanding the underlying relationships between emotions and sensory cues have become a subject of study in many fields including Acoustics, Psychology, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. This work is a preliminary step towards investigating cues for human emotion on a fundamental level by aiming to establish relationships between tonal frequencies of sound and emotions. For that, an online perception test is conducted, in which participants are asked to rate the perceived emotions corresponding to each tone. The results show that a crossover point for four primary emotions lies in the frequency range of 417–440 Hz, thus consolidating the hypothesis that the frequency range of 432–440 Hz is neutral from human emotion perspective. It is also observed that the frequency dependant relationships between emotion pairs Happy—Sad, and Anger—Calm are approximately mirrored symmetric in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Although there are many treatment options for the treatment sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), the most effective treatment method is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal treatment option for SSHL by examining the 5-years patient data of our clinic. Methods: The patients who were diagnosed as SSHL in our clinic between January 1, 2016 and July 31, 2021 were included in the present study. The treatment in groups were only oral steroid (OS) (group 1, n=30), OS and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) (group 2, n=30), OS and intratympanic steroid therapy (ITS) (group 3, n=30) and OS+ITS+HBOT (group 4, n=30). The baseline pure tone audiometry (PTA), 3rd month PTA averages, audiological hearing gains and treatment success (a gain more than 15 Db in PTA) were determined and compared statistically. Results: The initial PTA averages (dB) in groups were 46.07±14.20, 45±12.49, 45.83±10.92, and 45.93±10.29, respectively. There were significant differences between the groups according to the PTA after treatment (p<0.05). In the after-treatment PTA threshold evaluation, the mean of group 4 was statistically significantly lowest (p<0.05). There were significant differences between the groups according to the PTA gain (p<0.05). In the paired comparisons of the groups according to PTA gain, the value of group 4 was significantly highest in all groups (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between the groups according to the other parameters (p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, the combined (oral+IT+HBOT) therapy was superior to other treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Critical periods—time windows of heightened plasticity in postnatal development—are specific to sensory features and are asynchronous. Whether they are timed by a temporally precise developmental program or are sequentially organized is not known. We use electrophysiology and molecular or sensory manipulations to elucidate the biological constraints on critical period timing. Passive sound exposure shows that the cortical representations of two sound features, pure tone and frequency-modulated sweep (FMS), are not influencing each other. Enhancing inhibition before the critical period for pure tone accelerates it without changing the critical period for FMS. Similarly, delaying the critical period for pure tone with white noise exposure has no effect on the critical period for FMS. However, the critical period for FMS starts only if the one for pure tone has occurred. Together, these results indicate that distinct critical periods, although sequentially organized, can be temporally shifted independently of each other.

In auditory-conditioned fear learning, the freezing response is independent of the sound frequencies used, but the frequency of the conditioned sound is considered distinct from those of unrelated sounds based on electrophysiological responses in the auditory system. Whether an emergent discriminative learning underlies auditory fear conditioning and which nuclei and pathways are involved in it remain unclear. Using behavioral and electrophysiological assays, we found that the response of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons to a conditioned auditory stimulus (CS) was enhanced relative to the response to unrelated frequencies (UFs) after auditory fear conditioning, and mice could distinguish the CS during multifrequency testing, a phenomenon called emergent discriminative learning. After silencing the mPFC with muscimol, emergent discriminative learning was blocked. In addition, the pure tone responses of mPFC neurons were inhibited after injection of lidocaine in the ipsilateral primary auditory cortex (A1), and the emergent discriminative learning was blocked by silencing both sides of A1 with muscimol. This study, therefore, provides evidence for an emergent discriminative learning mediated by mPFC and A1 neurons after auditory fear conditioning.

Introduction Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) can be helpful in estimating the hearing thresholds by extrapolating the DPOAE input/output function with the help of scissor paradigm, and thus the following study aims at assessing its reliability by comparing DPOAE thresholds with those obtained by behavioral responses at pure tones on various frequencies. Materials and Methods Fifty participants having normal hearing sensitivity were included in the study. Pure tone (PT) audiometry was carried out on all participants to determine PT thresholds in both ears. DPOAE threshold test was administered and thresholds at 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz were compared accordingly. Results The result indicated significant difference between the two methods of threshold estimation where the mean difference was found to be 3 decibel (dB) and 4 dB for left and right ears, respectively. Shapiro-Wilk test revealed normal distribution (p > 0.05) of the data. Hence, parametric paired t-test was performed, which revealed significant difference between PT and distortion product thresholds. Conclusion Study concludes as having good clinical applicability in assessing neonates and infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The development of hearing and plasticity of brain after cochlear implantation (CI) for prelingually deaf children with white matter changes (group A) is unclear. Objective: To investigate the development of hearing for children in group A during 1 year after CI activation, compared with non-complicated peers (group B). Materials and methods: Twenty-one and 22 children (average age is about 5 years old) were included in groups A and B, respectively. Questionnaires were used to assess the hearing ability at pre-CI, 1, 6 and 12 months after CI activation (called Mpre, M1, M6, M12 for short). In addition, MMRs to pure tones were investigated at the same three time points after CI. Results: There is no significant difference in scores on questionnaires, MMR incidence, latency or amplitude between children in two groups. Scores on questionnaires showed a significant progressive improvement in two groups during the first year after CI. Furthermore, MMR incidence at M6 was significantly higher than that at M1, and MMR latency at M12 was significantly shorter than that at M1. Conclusions and significance: Prelingually deaf children with white matter changes achieved rapid development and comparable outcomes with CI peers over the first year after CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of the intratympanic infiltration of infliximab at the hearing threshold of patients in follow-up for refractory immune-mediated hearing loss. Methods: 17 patients were collected with relapses, despite maintenance treatment with oral azathioprine associated or not with oral prednisone at low doses (between 5 and 7.5 ml/day) or refractory relapses to previous intratympanic corticoid treatment being 19 affected ears infiltrated. We measured the hearing threshold by Pure-Tone Average (PTA) 500–3000 Hz, 125–8000 Hz and 250–8000 Hz in pre-infiltration (baseline) and follow-up 3 weeks post-infiltration with auditory threshold at frequencies 125–8000 Hz. Results: The average age was 50.68 years (±15.23 years). After the administration of intratympanic infliximab, an improvement of the hearing threshold was showed in the Pure-Tone Average (PTA) calculated at 500–3000 Hz (p = 0.004), 125–8000 Hz (p = 0.001) and 250–8000 Hz (p = 0.006). An immediate improvement in low frequencies also was observed: 125, 250 and 500 Hz (p = 0.009, p = 0.002 and p < 0.001 respectively) also at 1000 Hz (p = 0.004) and a persistence of the effect at 3 months in the low frequencies: 125 Hz (p = 0.020), 250 Hz (p = 0.006) and 500 Hz (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Infliximab intratympanic infiltration improves the hearing threshold in patients with immune-mediated hearing loss. The effect of improving the hearing threshold is higher in low frequencies and persists within 3 months of the infiltration. The administration of intratympanic infliximab is an effective and safe technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In auditory-conditioned fear learning, the freezing response is independent of the sound frequencies used, but the frequency of the conditioned sound is considered distinct from those of unrelated sounds based on electrophysiological responses in the auditory system. Whether an emergent discriminative learning underlies auditory fear conditioning and which nuclei and pathways are involved in it remain unclear. Using behavioral and electrophysiological assays, we found that the response of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons to a conditioned auditory stimulus (CS) was enhanced relative to the response to unrelated frequencies (UFs) after auditory fear conditioning, and mice could distinguish the CS during multifrequency testing, a phenomenon called emergent discriminative learning. After silencing the mPFC with muscimol, emergent discriminative learning was blocked. In addition, the pure tone responses of mPFC neurons were inhibited after injection of lidocaine in the ipsilateral primary auditory cortex (A1), and the emergent discriminative learning was blocked by silencing both sides of A1 with muscimol. This study, therefore, provides evidence for an emergent discriminative learning mediated by mPFC and A1 neurons after auditory fear conditioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SSMAEP elicited by 500 Hz pure tones was the strongest at 6 Hz. • SSMAEP was mainly in the temporal and frontal lobes. • Low-frequency pure tones enhanced SSMAEP at low-frequency sound motion. • High-frequency pure tones enhanced SSMAEP at high-frequency sound motion. The ability of humans to perceive motion sound sources is important for accurate response to the living environment. Periodic motion sound sources can elicit steady-state motion auditory evoked potential (SSMAEP). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different motion frequencies and different frequencies of sound source on SSMAEP. The stimulation paradigms for simulating periodic motion of sound sources were designed utilizing head-related transfer function (HRTF) techniques in this study. The motion frequencies of the paradigm are set respectively to 1-10 Hz, 15 Hz, 20 Hz, 30 Hz, 40 Hz, 60 Hz, and 80 Hz. In addition, the frequencies of sound source of the paradigms were set to 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, and 4000 Hz at motion frequencies of 6 Hz and 40 Hz. Fourteen subjects with normal hearing were recruited for the study. SSMAEP was elicited by 500 Hz pure tone at motion frequencies of 1-10 Hz, 15 Hz, 20 Hz, 30 Hz, 40 Hz, 60 Hz, and 80 Hz. SSMAEP was strongest at motion frequencies of 6 Hz. Moreover, at 6 Hz motion frequency, the SSMAEP amplitude was largest at the tone frequency of 500 Hz and smallest at 4000 Hz. Whilst SSMAEP elicited by 4000 Hz pure tone was significantly the strongest at motion frequency of 40 Hz. SSMAEP can be elicited by periodic motion sound sources at motion frequencies up to 80 Hz. SSMAEP also has a strong response at lower frequency. Low-frequency pure tones are beneficial to enhance SSMAEP at low-frequency sound source motion, whilst high-frequency pure tones help to enhance SSMAEP at high-frequency sound source motion. The study provides new insight into the brain's perception of rhythmic auditory motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives We investigated the normative data on the hearing threshold levels of Koreans with normal tympanic membranes and the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) and nonserviceable hearing using the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) during 2010–2012. Methods Data obtained from 16,673 participants ≥12-year-of-age with normal tympanic membranes who completed audiometric testing. We defined HL as the pure tone average (PTA) >25 dB hearing level at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 Hz and non-serviceable hearing as PTA >40 dB hearing level. Results The hearing levels at some frequencies (0.5, 3, and 6 kHz) did not differ in between the 10’s and 20’s, but the hearing thresholds at all frequencies increased gradually from the 30’s. The hearing thresholds were higher in men than in women at high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz) in the 30’s and older. The prevalence of HL in either ear was 16.5% (estimates of 5.9 million), from 2.4% in the 10’s up to 75.4% in the 70’s and older. The prevalence of nonserviceable hearing in either ear was 6.8% (estimates of 2.5 million) and that of bilateral nonserviceable hearing was 2.5% (estimates of 0.9 million). Conclusion Hearing loss aggravated from the 30’s at all frequencies and men showed poorer hearing levels than women at high frequencies. Hearing loss was a common condition and the prevalence of non-serviceable hearing in either ear, which needs hearing rehabilitation to help social communication, was 6.8%. Normative pure tone thresholds at each frequency can be used as referent values when counseling patients complaining of hearing loss.

The inferior colliculus (IC) is known as a neuronal structure involved in the integration of acoustic information in the ascending auditory pathway. However, the processing of paired acoustic stimuli containing different sound types, especially when they are applied closely, in the IC remains poorly studied. We here firstly investigated the IC neuronal response to the paired stimuli comprising click and pure tone with different inter-stimulus (click-tone) intervals using in vivo loose-patch recordings in anesthetized BALB/c mice. It was found that the total acoustic evoked spike counts decreased under certain click-tone interval conditions on some neurons with or without click-induced supra-threshold responses. Application of click could enhance the minimum threshold of the neurons responding to the tone in a pair without changing other characteristics of the neuronal tone receptive fields. We further studied the paired acoustic stimuli evoked excitatory/inhibitory inputs, IC neurons received, by holding the membrane potential at -70/0 mV using in vivo whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques. The curvature and peak amplitude of the excitatory/inhibitory post-synaptic current (EPSC/IPSC) could be almost unchanged under different inter-stimulus interval conditions. Instead of showing the summation of synaptic inputs, most recorded neurons only had the EPSC/IPSC with the amplitude similar as the bigger one evoked by click or tone in a pair when the inter-stimulus interval was small. We speculated that the IC could inherit the paired click-tone information which had been integrated before reaching it.

The objective of this study is to evaluate stapes surgery in patients with otosclerosis and "profound" hearing loss. This means they meet hearing threshold criteria for cochlear implantation (CI). We performed a retrospective study and patient questionnaire. The results from 33 patients (35 ears) were recorded (mean age: 63.6, range: 40-85). The primary outcome measure was hearing thresholds recorded before and after surgery at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz. Hearing thresholds at 2 and 4 kHz were also analyzed. Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) was used in 21 patients to assess life quality changes. Hearing thresholds improved in 80% of ears (mean improvement, 26.3 dB), were unchanged in 11.4%, and worsened in 8.6%. Mean GBI score was +20.7. Hearing aid use decreased in 23.8% and ceased in 28.6%. One patient subsequently underwent CI. For patients with profound otosclerosis, stapes surgery provides a quantitative improvement in hearing thresholds and improvement in quality of life, with reduced reliance on hearing aids. This avoids CI, auditory rehabilitation, and a change in quality and tonality of sound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inferior colliculus (IC) is known as a neuronal structure involved in the integration of acoustic information in the ascending auditory pathway. However, the processing of paired acoustic stimuli containing different sound types, especially when they are applied closely, in the IC remains poorly studied. We here firstly investigated the IC neuronal response to the paired stimuli comprising click and pure tone with different inter-stimulus (click-tone) intervals using in vivo loose-patch recordings in anesthetized BALB/c mice. It was found that the total acoustic evoked spike counts decreased under certain click-tone interval conditions on some neurons with or without click-induced supra-threshold responses. Application of click could enhance the minimum threshold of the neurons responding to the tone in a pair without changing other characteristics of the neuronal tone receptive fields. We further studied the paired acoustic stimuli evoked excitatory/inhibitory inputs, IC neurons received, by holding the membrane potential at -70/0 mV using in vivo whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques. The curvature and peak amplitude of the excitatory/inhibitory post-synaptic current (EPSC/IPSC) could be almost unchanged under different inter-stimulus interval conditions. Instead of showing the summation of synaptic inputs, most recorded neurons only had the EPSC/IPSC with the amplitude similar as the bigger one evoked by click or tone in a pair when the inter-stimulus interval was small. We speculated that the IC could inherit the paired click-tone information which had been integrated before reaching it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Design: We aimed to evaluate whether alopecia areata (AA) patients had hearing loss with pure-tone audiometry. Materials and Methods: In the study, 48 patients with AA and 39 healthy volunteers were included. All the patients were examined by the otorhinolaryngologist and audiometric examinations were performed using a pure-tone audiometer. Pure-tone thresholds for both ears were evaluated at frequencies of 250-8000 Hz for air conduction. Results: Sensorineural hypoacusis was found in 18.8% of AA patients and 10.3% of control subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.422). The pure-tone average for the right ear and the left ear in AA patients was 10.89±5.45 and 10.50±5.98, respectively. In control subjects, it was 10.25±3.43 for the right ear and 10.23±5.46 for the left ear. Pure-tone averages for both ears in AA patients were higher than controls; but the differences were not statistically significant (p=0.829 and p=0.526, respectively). When we compared hearing thresholds for both ear for frequencies, there were not any significant differences between AA patients and controls (p>0.05). Conclusion: There was no difference in terms of hearing loss between AA patients and healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and its association with endothelial dysfunction (ED). Methods: Fifty-two participants with stable SCA and 44 apparently healthy (AA genotype) participants aged 6-18 years were evaluated for pure tone audiometry and endothelial function using ultrasonographic imaging of the brachial artery to assess flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Laboratory analysis of the lipid profile and C-reactive protein levels was performed. Results: In the SCA group, 15 (28.8%) patients presented with SNHL. The FMD values were reduced in the SCA with SNHL group compared with the SCA without SNHL and healthy groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that FMD was associated with SNHL independent of the lipid profile and SCA characteristics (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.614 [0.440-0.858]; p = 0.004). Discussion: SNHL is a common complication in SCA; furthermore, this study identified a significant association between ED and SNHL. Damage to the vascular endothelium because of inflammation in SCA reduced blood flow in the inner ear. Thus, this circulatory disorder culminates in vaso-occlusive process and induces auditory disorders, such as SNHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is any influence of systemic arterial hypertension on the peripheral auditory system. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study that investigated 40 individuals between 30 and 50 years old, who were divided into groups with and without systemic arterial hypertension, using data from high-frequency audiometry, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions. The results were compared with those from groups of normal-hearing individuals, with and without systemic arterial hypertension, who underwent the pure-tone audiometry test. All individuals also underwent the following procedures: otoscopy, acoustic immittance measures, pure-tone audiometry at frequencies from 250 to 16000 Hz, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions test and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions test. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups with and without systemic arterial hypertension in either conventional or high-frequency audiometry. Regarding transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions, there was a trend toward statistical significance whereby the systemic arterial hypertension group showed lower results. Regarding distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, the systemic arterial hypertension group showed significantly lower results at the following frequencies: 1501, 2002, and 3003 Hz. A discriminant analysis indicated that the distortion-product otoacoustic emissions variables best distinguished individuals with and without systemic arterial hypertension. CONCLUSION: Data from this study suggest cochlear dysfunction in individuals with systemic arterial hypertension because their otoacoustic emission results were lower than those in the systemic arterial hypertension group.