Audiological Findings in Autoimmune Hepatitis: Hearing Loss at High Frequencies

Abstract

Objectives: In this study we aimed to examine the audiological findings in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Patients and Methods: Nine patients with the diagnosis of AIH were included in the study. Eighteen healthy age and sex matching volunteers constituted the control group. All the subjects underwent audiologic evaluation with pure tone and speech audiometry. Results: Pure tone air conduction threshold averages for right ears in study and control group were 10.14 ± 4.70 and 6.73 ± 1.43 dB, respectively (p=0.022). Pure tone air conduction threshold averages for left ears in study and control group were 10.42 ± 4.84 and 6.66 ± 1.35 dB, respectively (p=0.018). There was significant decline at high frequencies (4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz) in AIH group compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). Speech reception thresholds and speech discrimination percentages were also significantly decreased in AIH (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, this is the first study in the literature showing the presence of hearing loss in AIH. However further studies with larger groups and including other assessment tools such as OAE are needed.