Evaluation of Medial Olivocochlear Efferent System and Hearing Loss in Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Abstract

Background/aim: Autoimmune diseases are a remarkable issue for researchers due to their adverse effects on the auditory system, but for primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) there is little research on the comprehensive audiological findings in literature. The main objective of this study was to investigate the medial olivocochlear efferent functions of subjects with pSS and to examine the audiological findings. Materials and methods: The study included 36 subjects with pSS and 36 healthy subjects. All the subjects underwent testing including pure tone, speech, and high frequency audiometry; tympanometry and acoustic reflexes; distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE); and suppression of DPOAE. Results: The hearing thresholds of the pSS group were higher than those of the control at all frequencies (P < 0.001). Minimal to mild sensorineural hearing loss was observed in 52.77% of all the subjects with pSS. Additionally, all of the subjects had type A curve tympanograms, but the static compliances of the pSS group were lower and the acoustic reflex thresholds were higher than in the control (P < 0.001). In suppression levels of DPOAE, no statistically significant difference was found between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The study indicates that because of obtaining normal suppression levels in DPOAE, the medial olivocochlear efferent system is functional in pSS. However, there is a need for more tests, including auditory brainstem response, to evaluate the afferent auditory system in pSS.

Increased prevalence of hearing loss, tinnitus and sudden deafness among patients with Sjögren’s syndrome

“…SjD and hearing loss Our study, using population-based data, shows that patients with SjD have a higher risk of hearing loss than those without SjD (AOR=1.724, 95% CI 1.598-1.859), which is consistent with other studies based on case reports and case series. Studies have shown that hearing loss, mainly sensorineural, but also conductive, 12 and mixed type hearing loss, 13 could be highly prevalent in patients with SjD, [13][14][15][16][17][18] with 4.5%-46% of patients with SjD showing SNHL 12 16 17 19-22 in line with our study finding of 5.6%. SNHL associated with SjD usually affects hearing of high frequency sounds (2 kHz-8 kHz).…”