Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Inner ear function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
  • Published:
Sleep and Breathing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Because of their high metabolic activity and low-resting oxygen tension, the organs of the inner ear are vulnerable to hypoxia, a condition that occurs repetitively in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). The present study aimed to investigate the inner ear function of patients with OSAHS.

Methods

A total of 58 patients with OSAHS (116 ears) and 20 adults without OSAHS were enrolled in the present study. The clinical features, such as air-conduction thresholds, auditory brainstem response (ABR, 11 times/s and 51 times/s stimulation rates), and distorted products otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), were evaluated and compared between these two groups.

Results

Air-conduction thresholds at 4 kHz and 8 kHz were higher in patients with OSAHS compared with controls (P < 0.001). At the rate of 11 times per second, biauricular wave I latencies and wave V latencies in the OSAHS group were longer than those in the control group (1.51 ± 0.13 vs. 1.33 ± 0.07 ms, P < 0.001; 5.65 ± 0.23 vs. 5.53 ± 0.23 ms, P = 0.0016). At the rate of 51 times per second, biauricular wave I latencies and wave V latencies in the OSAHS group were longer than those in the control group (1.64 ± 0.12 vs. 1.44 ± 0.06 ms, P = 0.0001; 5.92 ± 0.26 vs. 5.80 ± 0.18 ms, P = 0.0077). However, there was no significant difference in the wave I and wave V interval between these two groups (P = 0.10). DPOAE amplitude was significantly reduced in OSAHS patients, although no hearing loss was observed.

Conclusion

High-frequency hearing loss was detected in adults with severe OSAHS, and wave I latencies and wave V latencies of ABR were prolonged.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chen X, Sun J, Yuan W, Li J (2015) OSAHS obstructive plane localization: comparative study between ag200 and friedman classification. Int J Clin Exp Med 8:2240–2246

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Chang Y, Ma Y, Sun S (2015) Clinical observation on effect of auto-CPAP on blood pressure in OSAHS patients. Sleep Med 16:S212–S212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Øhre B, Volden M, Falkum E, Tetzchner VS (2017) Mental disorders in deaf and hard of hearing adult outpatients: a comparison of linguistic subgroups. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 22:105–117

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Lombardi C, Musicco E, Bettoncelli G, Milanese M, Senna G, Braido F, Canonica GW (2015) The perception of oObstructive sSleep Apnoea/Hypopnoea Syndroms (OSAHS) among Italiangeneral practitioners. Clin Mol Allergy 13:4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Fu Q, Wang T, Liang Y, Lin Y, Zhao X, Wan J, Fan S (2019) Auditory deficits in patients with mild and moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a speech syllable evoked auditory brainstem response study. Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol 12:58–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Yang XH, Xiong XQ, Guo J, Wang YQ, Cui Y, Liang QL (2013) Auditory function after surgical treatments in adult patients with severe OSAHS. Chin J Otol 11:91–95 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Li XJ, Zhao Y, Li FD, Chen TS, Lu HH, Wang W, Chen Y, Liang RM, Chen C, Zhang JP, Ling P (2016) An analysis of auditory brainstem responses at high stimulate rate in patients with OSAHS. J Audiol Speech Pathol 24:355–359

    Google Scholar 

  8. Zelle D, Lorenz L, Thiericke JP, Gummer AW, Dalhoff E (2017) Input-output functions of the nonlinear-distortion component of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions in normal and hearing-impaired human ears. J Acoust Soc Am 141:3203–3219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dzierzewski JM, Wallace DM, Wohlgemuth WK (2016) Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure in existing users: self-efficacy enhances the association between continuous positive airway pressure and adherence. J Clin Sleep Med 12:169–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Matsumura E, Matas CG, Sanches SGG, Magliaro FCL, Pedreño RM, Genta PR, Lorenzi-Filho G, Carvallo RMM (2018) Severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with cochlear function impairment. Sleep Breath 22:71–77

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ekin S, Turan M, Arısoy A, Gunbatar H, Sunnetcioglu A, Asker S, Yıldız H (2016) Is there a relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hearing loss? Med Sci Monit 22:3124–3128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Zelle D, Dalhoff E, Gummer AW (2017) Objective audiometry with DPOAEs : new findings for generation mechanisms and clinical applications. HNO. 65:122–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Talents developing program of Beijing Hospital Authority, No. PX2016031.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, NO.1, Tsinghua Yuan, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xin Li, Wen-Jing Chen & Jing-Ying Ye

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, NO.168, Litang Road, Changping District, Beijing, 102218, China

    Xin Li, Wen-Jing Chen, Si-Chao Liang, Zhen-Ping Guo, Man-Lin Lu & Jing-Ying Ye

  3. Department of Allergy, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao city, Qinhuangdao, 066000, Hebei province, China

    Xiao-Yan Zhang

Authors
  1. Xin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wen-Jing Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiao-Yan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Si-Chao Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhen-Ping Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Man-Lin Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jing-Ying Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jing-Ying Ye.

Ethics declarations

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

All authors declare that they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

Yes

Informed consent

Obtained

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, X., Chen, WJ., Zhang, XY. et al. Inner ear function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 24, 65–69 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01891-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01891-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation