Clinical, hemorheology, TCD and ABR features in senile sudden deafness

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical, hemorheology, transcranial Doppler (TCD) and auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) features in senile sudden deafness.Methods The clinical manifestations, hemorheology, TCD, and ABR data in 82 patients with senile sudden deafness were analyzed retrospectively.Results (1) The primary symptoms mainly included tinnitus (65.9%) and vertigo (56.1%), which mostly occurred at daytime (53.7%).(2) Most of the patients had risk factors of arteriosclerosis such as hypertension (75.6%), diabetes (59.8%) and so on. These patients had more serious deafness.(3) There was no obvious relationship between high blood viscosity (61% of the patients) and the degree of deafness. (4) 85.4% of senile sudden deafness patients indicated vertebral-basilar artery insufficiency in TCD. There was a positive correlation between blood supply and degree of deafness. (5) The abnormal rate of ABR was 100%. WaveⅠdisappeared in most patients, which showed serious damage of auditory nerve. Disappearing of waveⅠ, Ⅲ, Ⅴ and Ⅰ～Ⅲ, Ⅲ～Ⅴ, Ⅰ～Ⅴ delitescence period delaying might be complicated with the damage of the structure of the brainstem and cochlea.Conclusions The morbidity and degree of senile sudden deafness are associated with insufficiency of blood supply of internal ears. TCD and ABR are sensitive and reliable methods in diagnosis, progression and prognosis of senile sudden deafness.