Investigation the Relationship between Skin Involvement Severity and Hearing Loss Severity in Vitiligo Patients

Introduction: Vitiligo is a common acquired depigmented systemic disorder influencing the entire pigmentary system including Cochlear melanocytes and vestibular system in the inner ear. Vitiligo can leads to social negative impact and poorer quality of life among these patients. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between skin involvement severity and hearing loss severity among vitiligo patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 98 patients with vitiligo referred to the dermatology clinic of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan during 2012-2014. Using Vitiligo Area Severity Index (VASI), the skin involvement was evaluated by a dermatologist. Then, patients referred to an otolaryngologist, and after otoscopic examination, they underwent audiometric testing including Audiometry, Tympanometry and Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR tests. Patients aged 10-50 years old without any other underlying diseases, and after rule out of other causes of depigmentation and leukoderm were included. Patients with congenital hearing impairment and patients with history of ototoxic drugs intake such as aminoglycosides, vancomycin and thiazide were excluded. Results: No significant association was found between severity of Vitiligo with conductive hearing loss. Vitiligo has not been correlated with sensory neural hearing loss. Also, there was no relationship between the duration of clinical manifestations of vitiligo with conductive and sensory neural hearing loss. Conclusions: Our finding showed that there was no relationship between skin involvement severity and hearing loss severity in vitiligo patients. In addition, no relationship was found between the conductive and sensory neural hearing losses with the incidence duration of clinical manifestation and extent of skin involvement of vitiligo.