Evaluation of the Association between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Hearing Loss
-
Amir Hossein Mohammadi
,
Amir Houshang Mehrparvar
,
Raziyeh Soltani-Gerdfaramarzi
,
Ehsan Samimi
,
Mehrdad Mostaghaci
Abstract
Background and Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) through hypoxia and reoxygenation periods leads to oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and activation of inflammatory cycles, which eventually may cause disorder in vasa nervorum, and peripheral neuropathy in hearing pathway. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of severe sleep apnea on hearing function.
Materials and Methods: In this study, 91 individuals were evaluated and categorized in two groups of patients suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea [Apnea/Hypopnea index (AHI) > 30], and controls (AHI < 5). Pure tone audiometry (PTA) was performed for all the subjects.
Results: Mean hearing threshold at 250-8000 Hz was 24.44 ± 6.80 dB, and 15.75 ± 5.10 dB in case and control groups, respectively (P < 0.01). Evaluation of each frequency showed that hearing threshold was significantly higher at 4000 Hz in the group with severe obstructive apnea. The only effective factor among all variances of sensorineural hearing loss in obstructive sleep apnea was the oxygen desaturation index, which predicted 18% of hearing loss variances. The frequency of hearing loss in patients with obstructive sleep apnea was higher than those without it. The severity of obstructive sleep apnea had significant relationship with hearing loss.
Conclusion: The frequency of hearing loss in patients with obstructive sleep apnea was estimated to be more than subjects without it. The severity of obstructive sleep apnea was associated with hearing loss. Obstructive sleep apnea may be a risk factor for hearing loss due to hypoxia. Thus, treatment of it may reduce risk of hearing loss. Further studies are required to evaluate the influence of treatment of obstructive sleep apnea on hearing loss.
Young T, Peppard PE, Gottlieb DJ. Epidemiol- ogy of obstructive sleep apnea: a population health perspective. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:1217-39.
Phillipson EA. Sleep apnea-a major public health problem. N Engl J Med 1993; 328: 1271-3.
Black J. Sleepiness and residual sleepiness in adults with obstructive sleep apnea. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2003; 136: 211-20.
Nieto FJ, Young TB, Lind BK, et al. Associa- tion of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea, and
hypertension in a large community-based study. Sleep Heart Health Study. JAMA 2000; 283: 1829-36.
Shahar E, Whitney CW, Redline S, et al. Sleep- disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease: cross- sectional results of the Sleep Heart Health Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2001; 163: 19-25.
Sassani A, Findley LJ, Kryger M, et al. Reduc-ing motor-vehicle collisions, costs, and fatalities by treating obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep 2004;27: 453-8.
Weaver TE, Laizner AM, Evans LK, et al. An in- strument to measure functional status outcomes for disor- ders of excessive sleepiness. Sleep 1997; 20: 835-43.
Stradling JR, Crosby JH. Predictors and preva- lence of obstructive sleep apnoea and snoring in 1001 middle aged men. Thorax 1991; 46: 85-90.
Young T, Hutton R, Finn L, et al. The gender bias in sleep apnea diagnosis. Are women missed be-
cause they have different symptoms? Arch Intern Med 1996; 156: 2445-51.
Yamashiro Y, Kryger MH. Why should sleep apnea be diagnosed and treated?. Clin Pulm Medn
; 1: 250-9.
Fletcher EC. The relationship between systemic hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea: facts and theory. Am J Med 1995; 98: 118-28.
Gozal D, Kheirandish-Gozal L. Cardiovascular morbidity in obstructive sleep apnea: oxidative stress, inflammation, and much more. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008; 177: 369-75.
Fanfulla F, Grassi M, Taurino AE, et al. The re- lationship of daytime hypoxemia and nocturnal hypox- ia in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep 2008;31: 249-55.
Chin K, Ohi M, Kita H, et al. Effects of NCPAP therapy on fibrinogen levels in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1996; 153: 1972-6.
Vgontzas AN, Papanicolaou DA, Bixler EO, et al. Circadian interleukin-6 secretion and quantity and depth of sleep. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999; 84: 2603-7.
Bernath I, Bernat I, Pongracz E, et al. Effects of blood hyperviscosity on functional integrity in the brain stem: a brain stem evoked auditory potential study. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc 2004; 31: 123-8.
Muchnik C, Rubel Y, Zohar Y, Hildesheimer M. Auditory brainstem response in obstructive sleep apnea patients. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol 1995; 6: 139-48.
Henderson D, Bielefeld EC, Harris KC, et al.The role of oxidative stress in noise-induced hearing loss. Ear Hear 2006; 27: 1-19.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 1 No 3 (2016): Summer | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Obstructive sleep apnea Pure tone audiometry Apnea/hypopnea index Hearing loss | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
