Audiological manifestations in HIV-positive adults

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To characterize the findings of behavioral hearing assessment in HIV-positive individuals who received and did not receive antiretroviral treatment.METHODS:This research was a cross-sectional study. The participants were 45 HIV-positive individuals (18 not exposed and 27 exposed to antiretroviral treatment) and 30 control-group individuals. All subjects completed an audiological evaluation through pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and high-frequency audiometry.RESULTS:The hearing thresholds obtained by pure-tone audiometry were different between groups. The group that had received antiretroviral treatment had higher thresholds for the frequencies ranging from 250 to 3000 Hz compared with the control group and the group not exposed to treatment. In the range of frequencies from 4000 through 8000 Hz, the HIV-positive groups presented with higher thresholds than did the control group. The hearing thresholds determined by high-frequency audiometry were different between groups, with higher thresholds in the HIV-positive groups.CONCLUSION:HIV-positive individuals presented poorer results in pure-tone and high-frequency audiometry, suggesting impairment of the peripheral auditory pathway. Individuals who received antiretroviral treatment presented poorer results on both tests compared with individuals not exposed to antiretroviral treatment.

Effect of HIV Infection and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy on Hearing Function

“…According to these investigators, nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors cause damage in the mitochondrial DNA in the inner ear, which accumulates over time and finds expression in older patients. However, other authors discovered a predominance of conductive hearing loss in adults 2 or children 6 as a result of eustachian tube issues secondary to nasopharyngeal infections or tumors.…”

“…9 Many hearing disorders are due to a higher incidence of ear disease from HIV itself or from opportunistic infections and ototoxic drugs. 6 Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the most HIV-positive people in the world, 10 yet most studies on HIV infection originate in developed countries. Reviews from Assuiti et al 11 and Mrema 12 found a unanimously higher incidence of hearing loss in patients with HIV, although no strong relation with any specific factor could be drawn.…”

“…5 Hearing loss has been reported in approximately 20% to 50% of patients with HIV. [6][7][8] According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 75% of adults with AIDS have some kind of hearing disorder. 9 Many hearing disorders are due to a higher incidence of ear disease from HIV itself or from opportunistic infections and ototoxic drugs.…”

Is human T‐lymphotropic virus type 1 infection associated with hearing loss?

“…HIV infection may cause both middle ear and ABR changes . Middle ear involvement is more common in children, whereas ABR more commonly changes in HIV‐infected adults . Hearing loss in HIV possibly results from the direct action of the virus, the ototoxic effects of antiretroviral treatments, and opportunistic infections .…”

Ototoxicity: Old and New Foes

“…The first reports about their negative effect on hearing appeared some 10 years later and ever since conflicting conclusions are being drawn from several studies. In some studies, authors found the hearing loss among 30% of HIV patients taking the reverse transcription inhibitors [39][40][41], whereas in other studies, no association between audiological impairment and antiviral medication was found [42,43]. Various inclusion criteria, diverse outcome measure methods, sample size and many other factors could contribute to these dissimilar results.…”