The Association Between Dehydration and the Prognosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Background

There is an urgent need to identify undetermined risk factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) for the development of effective treatment strategies. SSNHL is likely associated with vascular insufficiency; however, no study has evaluated the relationship between dehydration and SSNHL.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the role of dehydration in the development and prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Study Design

Retrospective case-control study.

Setting

Secondary referral hospital.

Patients and Interventions

This was a comparative study that compared dehydration parameters between healthy subjects without SSNHL (n = 94) and patients with SSNHL (n = 94). The study also evaluated the effect of dehydrated conditions on the prognosis of SSNHL.

Main Outcome Measures

We compared dehydration parameters, such as the blood urea nitrogen-to-creatinine ratio (BUN/Cre) and plasma osmolality (Posm), between matched healthy subjects without SSNHL and patients with SSNHL. To evaluate the effect of dehydrated conditions on the SSNHL prognosis, the SSNHL patients were divided into 2 groups based on the cutoff value obtained from the receiver operating characteristic analysis: hydrated (n = 50; BUN/Cre <21.4) and dehydrated (n = 44; BUN/Cre ≥21.4) groups. Subsequently, the severity and prognosis of SSNHL were analyzed.

Results

The dehydration parameters, BUN/Cre and Posm, were significantly higher in patients with SSNHL than in healthy subjects. The initial hearing levels and SSNHL grades were worse in the dehydrated group than in the hydrated group. Moreover, a dehydrated condition (BUN/Cre ≥21.4) was associated with a poor SSNHL prognosis in all models of the multiple logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions

The dehydration parameters of BUN/Cre and Posm were higher in patients with SSNHL than in healthy subjects. Additionally, a dehydrated condition (BUN/Cre ≥21.4) was an independent prognostic factor for SSNHL. Level of evidence: Level 4.

Relationship between nomophobia and impulsivity among deaf and hard-of-hearing youth

Excessive use of smartphones is known to be associated with negative social, physical, and psychological outcomes across age groups. A related problem is called “no-mobile-phone phobia” or “nomophobia,” which is an extreme anxiety caused by not having access to a mobile phone. Despite their detrimental effects, smartphone use is highly prevalent among deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals owing to their accessibility features. Therefore, it was deemed important to identify the prevalence of nomophobia in DHH youth and to examine the association between impulsivity and nomophobia. Gender-based differences in nomophobia and impulsivity were also examined. Data were collected from 187 DHH youth in Saudi Arabia using the Nomophobia Questionnaire and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (short form). Findings revealed that 71.65% of the participants experienced severe nomophobia. While, nomophobia was more prevalent among female DHH youth than males, this difference was not observed for impulsivity. A linear regression analysis indicated that higher impulsivity was significantly associated with higher nomophobia in this sample. These findings suggest the importance of helping youth understand the disadvantages of smartphone use, and the consequences of their abuse or addiction to smartphones by incorporating this information into school curricula. Additionally, educating parents may help them monitor their children’s smartphone use more closely.

Association of the prognosis and severity of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss with cervical ultrasonographic findings

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the prognosis and severity of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) with cervical ultrasonographic findings suggestive of cardiovascular risk.

METHODS

Seventy-four inpatients with ISSNHL were included in our study. Cervical ultrasonography was performed to evaluate the common carotid artery (CCA), internal carotid artery (ICA), and vertebral artery (VA). The peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, intima-media thickness, pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were evaluated. We investigated the relationship of these variables with the severity and prognosis of ISSNHL.

RESULTS

ICA-PI, ICA-RI, and CCA-RI were significantly higher in patients with poor hearing prognosis than in those with good prognosis. The variables of VA were not related to the prognosis of ISSNHL. There were no statistically significant differences between ISSNHL severity and cervical ultrasonographic findings.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that PI and RI might be prognostic factors for ISSNHL.