This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on ISI (10)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Neurology  • Neuro-otology  • Hearing Loss/ Deafness  • Alert me on articles by topic

Antonio Pirodda, MD; Gian Gaetano Ferri, MD; Giovanni Carlo Modugno, MD; Claudio Borghi, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:1049-1052.

Background  Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is an acute disorder whose origin is often unclear. A vascular disorder may be a causative factor.

Objective  To determine whether hypotension influences the genesis of SSHL in healthy subjects.

Design  To investigate the role of a 24-hour blood pressure (BP) profile in a population of young subjects with SSHL from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 1999, by a nonrandomized controlled trial.

Setting  The Ear, Nose and Throat Section of the Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences and the Department of Internal Medicine, S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

Patients  The study population consisted of 23 untreated healthy patients diagnosed as having SSHL compared with 20 age- and sex-matched normotensive control subjects. Both groups underwent 24-hour BP monitoring, and their BP profiles were analyzed and compared with routine BP values. The data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 7.1, and the results are expressed as mean ± SD.

Main Outcome Measures  The mean BP values were expected to be lower in the study population.

Results  The average clinic and ambulatory BP values were significantly lower in patients with SSHL, for systolic (clinic, P = .004; ambulatory BP, P = .02) and diastolic (clinic, P = .03; ambulatory BP, P = .03) values. The occurrence of persistent hypotension (the presence of >2 consecutive recordings of systolic BP of 105 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of 60 mm Hg) was increased in the population with SSHL.

Conclusion  Systemic hypotension must be considered as the possible cause responsible for the development of SSHL in young healthy subjects.

From the Ear, Nose and Throat Section, the Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences (Drs Pirodda, Ferri, and Modugno), and the Department of Internal Medicine (Dr Borghi), S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(9):1146-1148.
FULL TEXT