[Correlation of hearing function findings in regard to other, subsequent complication of diabetes mellitus type 1].

INTRODUCTION: Hearing loss is considered to be a subsequent complication of diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Auditory function was analyzed in 50 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus type I, and through results of pure-tone audiometry and brainstem auditory evoked potentials in regard to the existence of subsequent complications of the disease, diabetic neuropathy (n=20) and retinopathy (n=13). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results were correlated with the ones in those having a disease, but without these complications and the control group of 30 healthy examinees of the adequate gender and age. Patients suffering from this disease for over 10 years (83.33%), were found to have high frequency of diabetic neuropathy, increased average sensorineural hearing loss (73.04%). The average age was significantly higher (35.5 +/- (3SD = 5.3) in accordance with 23.2 +/- (3 SD = 6.3), and the disease lasted much longer (17.5 years towards 5.7 years) in those suffering from neuropathy. In the presence of diabetic retinopathy it was found that the average sensorineural hearing loss was increased for 50.43%, in comparison to those without signs of retinopathy. The average sensorineural hearing loss was found to be higher for 62.58% to 76.81% in patients with retinopathy preproliferance and retinopathy profilerance than in those with established retinopathy nonprolferance. In the presence of diabetic retinopatlhy, a significant difference was observed in latencies of ll and IV waves from the right, and latencies of I, IV and V waves from the left ear, this is, interwaves latencies of I-III on the right ear and III-V and I-V on the left ear. CONCLUSION: Subsequent complications of diabetes mellitus type I (neuropathy and retinopathy) have positive correlation with the significant level of sensorineural hearing loss, particulary expressed in function of patients' age, and latencies extention of brainstem auditory evoked potentials.

Correlation of hearing function findings in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus type 1 in regard to age and gender.

Ageing of an individual affects hearing impairment and associated diseases can have a cumulative affect. In 50 examined subjects suffering from Diabetes Mellitus type 1, who were divided into groups according to age, gender and disease duration, auditory function was tested by analyzing results of pure-tone audiometry and brainstem auditory evoked potentials. The obtained results were correlated with the results of 30 healthy controls adequately represented by age and gender. Starting from the age group 30-39 we noticed a significant reduction in the percentage of regular findings in comparison with the control group, as well as an increase in the percentage of sensorineural hearing impairment and mean values of hearing impairment (-dB). In regard to gender, we found a continuing and significant increase in sensorineural hearing impairment in the examined male subjects from the group with the disease. The analysis and correlation of brainstem auditory evoked potentials regarding the age of the examinees did not show any significant impact on the increase in the mean values of the diseased and the controls, whereas regarding the gender, we noticed a significant impact on the increase in the mean values of absolute latencies II (Fd/l = 5.1249/9.8144), III (Fd/l = 14.0413/9.3169), IV (Fd/l =7.1413/6.3410) and V (Fd/l = 12.8753/6.1208) waves as well as of interwave latencies I-III (Fd/l = 5.2193/4.9628) mutually in the male examinees. In the diseased group there were significant differences of interwave latencies I-III in men and women both on the left and the right side, M here the values in the female subjects were significantly shorter than in the males.

[Correlation between auditory threshold and transitory evoked otoacoustic emissions]. / Korelacija izmedju praga sluha i tranzitorno evociranih otoakustickih emisija.

The aim of this study was to compare transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and pure tone audiometry in normal hearing ears and ears with cochlear hearing loss (60 ears of 30 subjects), to obtain defined data on qualitative and quantitative correlations. We wanted to determine the reliability with which a clinical examiner could predict a typical, idealized audiometric configuration from TEOAE measurements. The results show that the presence of otoacoustic emissions drops as a function of hearing loss and that there is a highly statistically significant correlation between characteristics of otoacoustic emission (coefficient of correlation and strength of otoacoustic emissions) and hearing loss at 1000-3000 Hz frequency. Otoacoustic emissions are never found when hearing loss at 1000-3000 Hz exceeds 36 dBnHL. The main practical conclusion is that otoacoustic emission presence indicates middle frequency functional integrity of the outer hair cells of Corti's organ. Absence of otoacoustic emissions is harder to interpret and requires further audiological diagnosis (brain-stem auditory evoked potentials).