Subject(s)
Glioma/epidemiology , Nose Neoplasms/epidemiology , Adolescent , Age of Onset , Endoscopy , Glioma/diagnosis , Glioma/surgery , Humans , Male , Nose Neoplasms/diagnosis , Nose Neoplasms/surgeryABSTRACT
The generic term 'sudden hearing loss' indicates the lack of knowledge about the etiology and pathogenesis of this phenomenon. In most cases it would seem feasible to consider infections or organic circulatory defects, but there are cases, generally affecting young subjects in whom the damage is often reversible, in which a functional origin is possible. We therefore investigated the possible effect of systemic arterial pressure in a retrospective study in a group of 36 patients aged not more than 40 years, treated for sudden hearing loss, comparing the mean values of their arterial pressure with those of a control group of 25 subjects, of similar age, admitted for other disorders. The significantly lower mean values of arterial pressure in the group affected by sudden hearing loss and the easier reversibility of the damage in these patients suggests that, at least in some cases, the cochlear damage may be caused by a perfusion deficit due to the combined effect of hypotension and imperfect vasomotor regulation.
Subject(s)
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/etiology , Hypotension/complications , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/diagnosis , Humans , Hypotension/diagnosis , Male , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
In the absence of a satisfactory interpretation, sudden sensorineural hearing loss is often attributed either to infective phenomena or to organic-type circulatory defects. This latter pathogenesis inevitably comes to mind in elderly patients or in the presence of signs of circulatory dysfunction. Nevertheless, the not-infrequent observation of sudden hearing loss in young persons lacking factors predictive of short-term vascular impairment makes us suppose the existence of etiopathogenetic mechanisms of a functional nature. A survey of our cases, matched with a control group, revealed the presence of lower mean blood pressure levels in the group of young patients with 'idiopathic' sudden hearing loss. This finding supports the hypothesis that a condition of haemodynamic imbalance linked to hypotension plays a role in the genesis of cochlear damage in young subjects. Such a mechanism would bear important therapeutic implications: should it be responsible for the damage in at least some cases, vasoactive drugs with a vasodilatative action could have adverse effects on the possibility of recovery.
