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Audiologic profile of OSAS and simple snoring patients: the effect of chronic nocturnal intermittent hypoxia on auditory function

  • Otology
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Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the effect of nocturnal intermittent hypoxia on auditory function of simple snoring patients and subjects affected by OSAS; we compared the audiologic profile with the severity of OSAS to detect early signs of cochlear damage. One hundred-sixty patients underwent overnight polysomnography, micro-otoscopy, multi-frequency audiometry, acufenometry, TEOAE recording and d-ROMs test. All subjects were divided in four groups, based on presence/absence of AHI (simple snoring without OSAS, mild OSAS, moderate OSAS, severe OSAS). Sixty (37.5 %) patients were not affected by OSAS, 58 (36.25 %) presented a mild OSAS, 18 (11.25 %) a moderate OSAS and 24 (15 %) a severe OSAS; the 57.14 % of moderate to severe OSAS suffered from tinnitus with respect to the 31.03 % of mild OSAS (P = 0.024). A higher percentage (41.66 %) of hearing loss was found among individuals with moderate to severe degree of OSAS (P < 0.0001). All groups were characterized by a mean hearing threshold <25 dB HL for 0.25–3 kHz frequencies and a progressive decrease in hearing sensitivity, particularly for 6–16 kHz frequencies (P < 0.05). The analysis of otoacoustic emissions SNR mean values evidenced a significant difference between simple snoring and severe OSAS individuals for 3 and 4 kHz frequencies (P < 0.05). d-ROM levels resulted higher in patients with severe OSAS with respect to simple snoring subjects (P = 0.004). Our data underline the key role of chronic nocturnal intermittent hypoxia in the development of an early cochlear damage and a more marked high-frequency hearing loss in case of severe OSAS (P < 0.05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biomedicina Sperimentale e Neuroscienze Cliniche, (BioNeC), Sezione di Otorinolaringoiatria, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via del Vespro, 129-90127, Palermo, Italy

    Francesco Martines, Federico Sireci, Marianna Mucia & Pietro Salvago

  2. Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche e Forensi (Di.Bi.Me.F.), Sezione di Audiologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via del Vespro, 129-90127, Palermo, Italy

    Antonella Ballacchino, Marianna Mucia, Eleonora La Mattina & Serena Rizzo

  3. Via Gioacchino Di Marzo, 37-90144, Palermo, Italy

    Pietro Salvago

Authors
  1. Francesco Martines
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  2. Antonella Ballacchino
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  3. Federico Sireci
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  4. Marianna Mucia
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  5. Eleonora La Mattina
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  7. Pietro Salvago
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Correspondence to Pietro Salvago.

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Martines, F., Ballacchino, A., Sireci, F. et al. Audiologic profile of OSAS and simple snoring patients: the effect of chronic nocturnal intermittent hypoxia on auditory function. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 273, 1419–1424 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3714-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3714-6

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