Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jul;33(2):98-101.
doi: 10.4103/0253-7184.102115.

Audio-vestibular function in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients in India

Suma Susan Mathews  1 , Rita Ruby Albert, Anand Job
Affiliations

Audio-vestibular function in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients in India

Suma Susan Mathews et al. Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: As the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic shows no signs of abating, the impact of AIDS is felt more in the developing countries due to socioeconomic reasons. The possibility of drug-induced ototoxicity also adds to the risk of audio vestibular dysfunction. We sought to determine if there was a difference between the audio-vestibular function in the asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients and patients with AIDS.

Study design: A prospective, cross-sectional study

Setting: A tertiary care center in South India

Materials and methods: The audio-vestibular system of 30 asymptomatic HIV positive subjects (group 1) and 30 subjects with AIDS (group 2), and age-matched 30 healthy controls (group 3) were assessed using pure tone audiometry and cold caloric test.

Results: Sixteen patients each, in group 1 and group 2 and four subjects in the control group were detected to have a hearing loss indicating significantly more HIV infected individuals (group 1 and 2) were having hearing loss (P=0.001). Kobrak's (modified) test showed 27% of patients in group 1 and 33% of patients in group 2 and none in the group 3 had a hypofunctioning labyrinth (P=0.001).

Conclusion: It seems that the human immunodeficiency virus does affect the audio-vestibular pathway. There was a significant incidence of audio-vestibular dysfunction among the HIV infected patients, as compared to the control population (P=0.001) and no significant difference between the asymptomatic HIV seropositive patients and AIDS patients. Majority of the patients had no otological symptoms.

Keywords: AIDS; HIV; audio-vestibular function; hearing loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Simoes EA, Babu PG, John TJ, Nirmala S, Solomon S, Lakshminarayana CS, et al. Evidence for HTLV-III infection in prostitutes in Tamil Nadu (India) Indian J Med Res. 1987;85:335–8. - PubMed
    1. Brew BJ Medical management of AIDS patients. Med Clin North Am. 1992;76:63–81. - PubMed
    1. Hardy WD., Jr The human immunodeficiency virus. Med Clin North Am. 1996;80:1239–61. - PubMed
    1. Hausler R, Vibert D, Koralnik IJ, Hirschel B. Neuro-otological manifestations in different stages of HIV infection. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 1991;481:515–21. - PubMed
    1. Kohan D, Rothstein SG, Cohen NL. Otologic disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Ann Otol Rhino Laryngol. 1988;97:636–40. - PubMed