Assessment of Hearing Function in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic pathology that affects many organ systems, appears after dysregulated immune response in genetically predisposed patients. Inner organ involvement has been shown in various autoimmune diseases because of its immunosensitivity. In this study, we aimed at showing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) as a result of possible subclinical inflammation in patients with IBD during the remission period.

Materials and methods: We included 32 children with IBD and 31 healthy volunteers with comparable sex and age. Detailed ear-nose-throat examination was conducted for all, and patients were excluded if they had a history of ear infectionor trauma. Thereafter, the results of pure tone audiometry (PTA), high-frequency audiometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions testing were compared between the groups.

Results: There were no differences in terms of age, sex, and PTA values between controls and children with IBD. No statistical differences were found between responses at 250; 500; 2,000; 4,000; DP1000; DP1400; DP2000; DP2800;and DP4000 Hz as well as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at 1,000 Hz when the controls and children with IBD (p>0.05 for all) were compared. However, the mean responses at 1,000; 8,000; 10,000; 12,500; 16,000; SNR1400; SNR2000; SNR2800; and SNR4000Hz of the children with IBD were significantly higher than those of the controls (p<0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Initial SNHL appears at high frequencies in pediatric patients with IBD.