International Journal of COPD (Dec 2018)
Is COPD associated with alterations in hearing? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Arash Bayat,1 Nader Saki,2 Soheila Nikakhlagh,2 Golshan Mirmomeni,3 Hanieh Raji,4 Hossein Soleimani,1 Fakher Rahim5 1Department of Audiology, Hearing Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hearing Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Iran; 3Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; 4Department of Internal Medicine, Air Pollution and Respiratory Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; 5Department of Molecular Medicine, Health Research Institute, Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathies Research Centre, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Background and aims: COPD is an irreversible or persistent airflow obstruction, which affects up to 600 million people globally. The primary purpose of this systematic review was to explore the COPD-based alteration in the auditory system function by conducting a quantitative analysis of presently published data. Materials and methods: We systematically searched seven diverse electronic databases and manual searching of references to identify relevant studies. Data from the selected studies were rated by two investigators independently in a blinded fashion. Meta-analysis was done on pooled data using Cochrane’s Review Manager 5.3. Results: Sixteen articles received suitable scores and were thus included for further processes. Hearing loss (HL) was defined as a change in pure tone audiometry (PTA) thresholds, auditory brainstem response (ABR), and auditory P300 parameters. ABR wave was significantly elongated in patients with COPD than in controls (standardized mean difference [SMD]=0.27, 95% CI: 0.05–0.48, P=0.02). PTA was significantly higher in patients with COPD when compared with controls (SMD=1.76, 95% CI: 0.43–3.08, P=0.0004). We found that patients with COPD had a significantly higher latency than controls (SMD=1.30, 95% CI: 0.79–1.80, P=0.0001). Conclusion: COPD patients had considerably greater incidence of HL when compared with controls. Interestingly, although the mean PTA thresholds at every frequency for COPD patients were higher than those for controls, these values were still in the slight to mild HL ranges. Prolonged ABR wave latencies in the COPD patients suggest retro-cochlear involvement. Thus, COPD most frequently clusters with HL, but it is worth noting that alteration in hearing is not always recognized by medical experts as a frequent comorbidity associated with COPD. Keywords: COPD, hearing loss, systematic review, meta-analysis
