A Study of Hearing Impairment among Patients with Essential Hypertension

INTRODUCTION: According to World health organization (WHO), a person who has hearing thresholds of 25db or more in both ears is said to have hearing loss or impairment. Hearing loss affects the quality of life of people when acquired in adulthood. The estimated prevalence of adult-onset deafness in India was found to be 7.6%. The hearing system affection may cause psychosocial effect, amongst which low self-esteem, isolation, depression and irritability and these problems interfere with quality of life. Essential hypertension is a form of hypertension that has no identifiable cause. It is a common type of hypertension affecting 95% hypertensive population. In people with hypertension presbycusis can set in at an early decade which can become worse by added factors like noise pollution and vascular pathologies. Hypertension is a common disease in India and our set of population does not undergo master health check-up and periodic blood pressure check-up. The public health awareness is improving but not to the extent of health consciousness and staying fit. Health consciousness like obesity, hip abdominal ratio and BMR are not prevailing consciousness in our population. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the proportion, type and degree of hearing impairment among patients with essential hypertension. 2. To correlate the duration of hypertension and degree of hearing impairment in patients with essential hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study entitled “A STUDY OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT AMONG PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION” is a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at a tertiary care centre. Type of study: Descriptive cross sectional study. Study period: 6 months. Settings: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery and Hypertension clinic, Department of Medicine, of a tertiary care centre. Sample size: Sample size in the present study was 120 essential hypertensive patients. Type of study: Descriptive cross-sectional study. INCLUSION CRITERIA: patients with essential hypertension 1. Patients in the age group of 20 to 60 years of both sexes. 2. The above criteria include patients with essential hypertension on medications as well as newly diagnosed patients. 3. Patients on only hypertensive medication. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Family history of deafness. 2. Aural discharge and deafness. 3. Congenital deafness. 4. Noise induced hearing loss. 5. Previous otological surgery. 6. Pregnant and lactating mothers. 7. Obesity and diabetics. 8. Alcoholics and smokers. 9. Patients with renal disorders. 10. Patients taking drugs for other associated illness with possible ototoxic effects. METHODOLOGY: This study is based on the analysis of 120 patients with essential hypertension aged between 20 to 60 years attending the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Heads and Neck surgery and Hypertension clinic of Department of Medicine in a tertiary care centre. All were screened for deafness using tuning fork tests and pure tone audiogram, along with general physical examination, ear nose, throat examination and laboratory tests after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and in those willing for giving informed consent. CONCLUSION: ❖ A descriptive cross-sectional study of hearing impairment among patients with essential hypertension attending otorhinolaryngology department and hypertension clinic of department of medicine was done. ❖ The mean age of patients in our study was found to be 50(±9) years. Most of the patients were in the 5th decade of life. ❖ The most common symptom in our study was tinnitus which was 73.3%. Symptom of hearing loss among patients with essential hypertension in our study is 51.7%. In our study the most common associated symptom was tinnitus and hearing loss. Vertigo was the next most common symptom. ❖ Patients in our study presented with varying duration of hypertension among which the moderate duration of hypertension i.e. between 10- 40 months was most common and degree of hypertension was most commonly in the pre hypertension category, i.e. SBP between 120 – 139mmHg and DBP between 80 – 89mmHg. Mild degree of hearing loss was the most common degree of hearing loss in our study. ❖ Among the patients studied , based on pure tone audiogram report obtained indicates that 75.8% of patients had sensorineural hearing loss. ❖ In our study, 96.70% (88) of subjects had bilateral hearing loss and 3.30% (3) of subjects had unilateral hearing loss. Majority of the patients had bilateral hearing loss. ❖ The degree of Sensorineural hearing loss was primarily in the mild category. ❖ This study shows that there is a definite association between duration of hypertension and degree of hearing loss