Does COPD have a clinically relevant impact on hearing loss? A retrospective matched cohort study with selection of patients diagnosed with COPD

Abstract

ObjectivesChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a multisystemic disease has a measurable and biologically explainable impact on the auditory function detectable in the laboratory. This study tries to clarify if COPD is also a significant and clinically relevant risk factor for hearing impairment detectable in the general practice setting.DesignRetrospective matched cohort study with selection of patients diagnosed with COPD.Setting12 general practices in Lower Austria.ParticipantsConsecutive patients >35 years with a diagnosis of COPD who consulted 1 of 12 single-handed GPs in 2009 and 2010 were asked to participate. Those who agreed were individually 1:1 matched with controls according to age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure.Main outcome measuresSensorineural hearing impairment as assessed by pure tone audiometry, answers of three questions concerning a self-perceived hearing problem, application of the whispered voice test and the score of the Hearing Inventory for the Elderly, Screening Version (HHIE-S).Results194 patients (97 pairs of 194 cases and controls) with a mean age of 65.5 (SD 10.2) were tested. Univariate conditional logistic regression resulted in significant differences in the mean bone conduction hearing loss and in the total score of HHIE-S, in the multiple conditional regression model, only smoking (p<0.0001) remained significant.ConclusionsThe results of this study do not support the hypothesis that there is an association between COPD and hearing impairment which, if found, would have allowed better management of patients with COPD.

Investigation of the relationship between sensorineural hearing loss and associated comorbidities in patients with chronic kidney disease: A nationwide, population-based cohort study

“…Notably, in this study, having CKD for longer time was associated with more significantly heightened incidence of developing SNHL ( Fig 2 ). The similar findings were also noticed in patients with type 2 DM, cardiovascular diseases and COPD [ 28 – 36 ]. Time as a risk factor was also confirmed in CKD animal models, where the impairment of cochlear function was exacerbated over time [ 19 , 37 ].…”

“…Recent reports presented the close relation between SNHL and COPD [ 35 ]. Additionally, smoking was a risk factor of SNHL in patients with COPD [ 36 ]. There was no study indicating the association between liver cirrhosis and SNHL.…”

Is COPD associated with alterations in hearing? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Four studies reported the mean pure tone threshold averages for both COPD and control individuals 5,8,9,18. Our findings indicated that the overall pooled mean audiometry thresholds were significantly higher in patients with COPD when compared with control cases (SMD=1.76, 95% CI: 0.43–3.08, P =0.0004; Figure 8).…”

Increased Risk of Sensorineural Hearing Loss as a Result of Exposure to Air Pollution

“…Besides age and sex, we also considered the insurance fee and area of residence of the subjects. The common comorbidities including HT (ICD-9-CM codes 401-405) [30,31], DM (ICD-9-CM code 250) [32,33], stroke (ICD-9-CM codes 430-438) [34], head injury (ICD-9-CM codes 850-854) [22,23], CKD (ICD-9-CM code 585) [35,36], IHD (ICD-9-CM codes 410-414) [37,38], alcoholism (ICD-9-CM codes 305.0 and 303) [39,40], nicotine dependence (ICD-9-CM code 305.1) [41,42], asthma (ICD-9-CM code 493) [43][44][45], COPD (ICD-9-CM codes 490-492, 494, and 496) [46], and RA (ICD-9-CM code 714) [47] were considered as potential confounders.…”

“…Several etiological factors can cause SHL, such as loud noise [17,18], viral infection [14,19], genetic mutations [20,21], accidental events [22,23], ototoxicity [24][25][26], autoimmune diseases [27] and unknown illness-induced sudden SHL [28,29]. Several diseases such as hypertension (HT) [30,31], diabetes mellitus (DM) [32,33], stroke [34], chronic kidney disease (CKD) [35,36], ischemic heart disease (IHD) [37,38], alcoholism [39,40], nicotine dependence [41,42], asthma [43][44][45], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [46], and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [47] are associated with SHL. Notably, some of these diseases can cause defects in the vascular system and microcirculation in the cochlea, subsequently resulting in hypoxia [48][49][50].…”