Hearing loss could be linked to sleep apnea.
"In our population-based study of 13,967 subjects from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, we found that sleep apnea was independently associated with hearing impairment at both high and low frequencies after adjustment for other possible causes of hearing loss," lead author Amit Chopra, MD, currently at the Albany Medical Center in New York said in an American Thoracic Society news release.
The participants underwent in-home sleep apnea tests. Their conditions were rated using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which predicts severity base on "the number of apnea (complete cessation of airflow) and hypopneas (partial cessation of airflow) per hour of sleep," the news release reported.
Hearing impacts were classified as having a mean hearing threshold of over 25 decibels in each ear at 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz; low frequency hearing impairment was classified as "having a mean hearing threshold of greater than 25 decibels in either ear at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz," the news release reported.
Out of the 13,967 study subjects 9.9 percent had moderate sleep apnea or higher; 19 percent had high frequency hearing impairment and 1.5 percent had low frequency hearing impairment.
Sleep apnea was connected to a 31 percent increase in high frequency hearing impairment, a 90 percent increase in low frequency hearing impairment, and a 38 percent increase in "combined high and low frequency hearing impairment," the news release reported.
Hearing loss was especially prevalent in those with a high Body Mass Index and those of Cuban or Puerto Rican descent.
The research was limited because the scientists did not take into account sleep apnea treatments.
"Patients with sleep apnea are at increased risk for a number of comorbidities, including heart disease and diabetes, and our findings indicate that sleep apnea is also associated with an increased risk of hearing impairment" Doctor Chopra said. "The mechanisms underlying this relationship merit further exploration. Potential pathways linking sleep apnea and hearing impairment may include adverse effects of sleep apnea on vascular supply to the cochlea via inflammation and vascular remodeling or noise trauma from snoring."
