ABSTRACT
Abstract Introduction Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder of unknown etiology, clinically characterized by whitish macules caused by selective loss of melanocytes. There are many melanocytes in the human cochlea. Recent studies have suggested a direct relation between cochlear dysfunction and decreased amounts of melanin. Objective To determine the effect of vitiligo on auditory function. Methods The present prospective, case control study was performed over a period of 1 year in patients between 15 and 40 years old with nonsegmental disease and the same number of controls. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) and Otoacoustic emission (OAE) were performed to analyze the correlation between vitiligo and auditory function. Results The mean pure tone audiometric threshold in the right ear at 0.5, 8 kHz, and in the left ear at the frequency of 8 kHz in the case group were significantly higher as compared with controls. The average band reproducibility (%) in the right and left ear of controls was significantly higher at the frequency of 4 kHz as compared with cases. It has been observed that signal to noise ratio was statistically higher at the frequency of 5kHz in the right ear and at 2, 3, and 5kHz in the left ear in controls as compared with cases. On the basis of disease type and duration of disease; mean pure tone audiometric threshold, average band reproducibility and signal to noise ratio, no significant effect was observed in the present study. Conclusion Vitiligo has an effect on cochlear function irrespective of the duration or distribution of the disease.
ABSTRACT
Abstract Introduction Numerous studies have evaluated auditory functions in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients; however, these studies had a few major limitations in terms of methodology as they used mainly evoked audiometry although this method is expensive, time consuming and not widely available. Therefore, we conducted a study in naïve HIV subjects with routine audiometry. Objective To determine the effect of HIV and of the drugs used to treat it on the auditory functions. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted in a medical college with 25 naive HIV-seropositive patients for over a year. Pure tone audiometry (250-8,000 Hz) and CD4 T-lymphocyte count were performed at the time of enrollment and 6 months after commencement of highly active antiretroviral treatment. Results The subjects had increased hearing thresholds at high frequencies (4 KHz and 8KHz) in both ears at the time of enrollment that persisted at the same level (p > 0.05) on follow-up at 6 months. None of the subjects had any other otological symptom during the 6 months of observation. Seven subjects had sensorineural hearing loss in one or both ears at 0 and 6 months. These observations did not show any significant difference on Wilcoxon-signed-rank test. Spearman correlation did not find a significant correlation (p > 0.05) between CD4 T-lymphocyte counts and pure tone audiometry during the study. Conclusion We found high-frequency hearing loss in all subjects with no relation with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and severity of the disease. This study advocates hearing assessment with pure tone audiometry in HIV subjects so that intervention can be initiated in a timely manner.