Prestin as a potential biomarker in peripheral blood: differential expression across hearing loss subtypes and acute inner ear injury.

OBJECTIVE

This exploratory study investigated peripheral blood Prestin levels across different hearing loss subtypes to evaluate its potential as a biomarker for inner ear injury.

METHODS

Plasma Prestin levels were measured via ELISA in 100 age-matched participants, comprising a healthy control group (HCG, n = 23) and patients with conductive (CHLG, n = 29) and unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss (USSNHLG, n = 48). Associations with hearing loss subtypes, initial audiogram configurations, and treatment outcomes were analyzed.

RESULTS

Overall, Prestin levels varied significantly across the three groups (P < 0.001). Following Dunn's test with Bonferroni correction, Prestin levels in the USSNHLG were significantly higher than those in the HCG (P = 0.019), whereas levels in the CHLG were significantly lower than those in the HCG (P = 0.014). Within the USSNHLG, no statistically significant differences in Prestin levels were observed among patients with different therapeutic outcomes (P = 0.102).

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings confirm that acute inner ear injury (USSNHL) is associated with significantly elevated peripheral blood Prestin levels, whereas persistently reduced acoustic input (CHL) is associated with decreased levels. However, current data do not support baseline Prestin as a prognostic indicator for USSNHL. Future multicenter studies with strict clinical stratification are required to fully establish its clinical utility.