Association between COPD and hearing loss with impaired speech recognition: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Introduction: Studies have identified a greater risk of loss of the ability to detect some sound frequencies in individuals with COPD compared to healthy individuals, but it is unclear whether they are at increased risk of hearing loss with impaired speech recognition. The aim of this study was to assess whether COPD is associated with hearing loss that affects speech recognition. Methods: This is a case-control study. We screened consecutive individuals attending a scheduled spirometry test requested by physicians from any of the 42 public health facilities in the municipality of Jundiai. We enrolled two groups, a test group of individuals with COPD and an age-matched control group composed of individuals with asthma. The selected individuals attended an appointment with a chest physician, responded questionnaires and underwent tonal and vocal audiometry. Binary logistic regression analysis adjusted for gender, BMI and comorbidities evaluated whether COPD was associated with reduced speech recognition Results: We enrolled 36 individuals with COPD and 72 with asthma. Individuals with COPD were more likely to have a reduced speech recognition compared to asthmatic individuals [Reduced recognition of three-syllable words: adjusted OR 3.72, 95 CI (1.38 - 10.02)] [Reduced recognition of monosyllable words: adjusted OR 4.74, 95 CI (1.52 - 14.76)]. Conclusions: Individuals with COPD from primary and secondary healthcare facilities have at least 38% greater risk of hearing loss with reduced speech recognition compared to an age-matched control group of individuals with asthma.