Audiometric Evaluation of the Relationship between Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Chronic Glaucoma.

OBJECTIVES

To assess hearing function in chronic glaucoma patients in comparison to healthy individuals.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 24 primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients (24 ears) and 22 pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEG) patients (22 ears) who were followed for at least 5 years in the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Ophthalmology Department, as well as 21 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals (21 ears, control group). Following a thorough ophthalmological examination that included visual acuity and intraocular pressure measurements, as well as anterior and posterior slit-lamp biomicroscopy, audiometry was performed in all participants to determine hearing function.

RESULTS

Mean ages in the POAG, PEG, and control groups were 64.50±7, 66.90±4.51, and 64.38±4.36 years, respectively. The mean deviation in standard automated perimetry was -14.47±2.89 in the POAG group and -15.02±2.87 in the PEG group (p=0.306). When compared with the control group, the POAG group had significantly higher hearing thresholds at 500 (p=0.011) and 1,000 Hz (p=0.003), while the PEG group had significantly higher hearing thresholds at 250 (p=0.009), 500 (p=0.009), 1,000 (p=0.001), 2,000 (p=0.005), 4,000 (p=0.001), 8000 (p=0.010), and 10,000 Hz (p=0.009).

CONCLUSION

Both glaucoma and hearing loss are common chronic diseases that have an impact on the well-being of older people. Potential hearing problems in chronic glaucoma patients make routine ocular and otolaryngology examinations in older patients critical for prompt diagnosis and treatment.