Recovery From Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Association With Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) disease severity and recovery. Method: A retrospective medical chart review was performed on 90 patients ( n = 48 men; M age = 59.8 years, SD = 15.8) evaluated for ISSNHL. Major CVD risk factors (current tobacco smoking, diabetes, total cholesterol ≥ 240 mg/dl or treatment, and hypertension [systolic blood pressure [BP]/diastolic BP ≥ 140/ ≥ 90 mmHg or treatment]) determined two CVD risk groups: lower (no major risk factors) and higher (one or more risk factors). Two pure-tone averages (PTAs) were computed: PTA 0.5,1,2 and PTA 3,4,6,8 . Complete recovery of ISSNHL was defined as PTA initial – PTA follow-up ≥ 10 dB. Logistic regression estimated the odds of ISSNHL recovery by CVD risk status adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, noise exposure, and treatment. Results: Most patients (67.8%) had one or more CVD risk factors. Severity of initial low- and high-frequency hearing loss was similar between CVD risk groups. Recovery was 53.2% for PTA 0.5,1,2 and 32.9% for PTA 3,4,6,8 . With multivariable adjustment, current/former smoking was associated with lower odds of PTA 0.5,1,2 recovery ( OR = 0.27; 95% CI [0.08, 0.92]). Neither higher CVD risk status nor individual CVD risk factors had a significant association with recovery. For every one-unit increase in Framingham Risk Score, odds of PTA 3,4,6,8 recovery were 0.95 times lower (95% CI [0.90, 1.00]) after accounting for age, sex, body mass index, noise exposure, and treatment/time-to-treatment grouping ( p = .056). Conclusions: The prognosis of low-frequency ISSNHL recovery is worse among current/former smokers than nonsmokers. Other CVD risk factors and aggregate risk are not significantly related to recovery.