Evaluation of the Hearing System in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Abstract

Aim:This study aimed to examine the effect of chronic hypoxemia on auditory functions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.Materials and Methods:Sixty patients who had pulmonary function test (PFT) and diagnosed with COPD were included in the study. Four study groups and a control group were created in the study. Each study group was determined based on forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio. Groups consisted of mild, moderate, severe and very severe COPD patients. Each group included 15 patients. The control group consisted of 30 patients with an FEV1/FVC ratio of >70%. All patients underwent pure tone audiometry and otoacoustic emission (OAE) test.Results:According to the audiological evaluation, a statistically significant difference was found between the severe and very severe group and the control group (p<0.01).Conclusion:The results of the present study showed that auditory mechanisms may also be affected in patients with severe and very severe COPD. The authors of this study argue that necessary measures should be taken in the early stages of the disease for COPD patients to prevent the negative effects of chronic hypoxemia on the auditory system.

Keywords

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• hypoxia
• auditory pathway
• audiometry
• otoacoustic emissions spontaneous