Article
Hearing disturbances in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
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Published: | August 8, 2007 |
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Introduction: In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) coexisting sensorineural hearing disorders are present frequently. These disorders can be either cochlear or retrocochlear in origin. Our aim was to study the hearing function in patients with HCM and to compare this group with age matched controls .
Method: Our audiological investigations were performed in 44 patients with HCM. Age matched groups of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (n=29) and volunteers with negative cardiac history (n=30) served as controls. Primary standard audiological examinations were carried out in all cases to exclude noise induced sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. The hearing function was evaluated by distorsion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP).
Results: Complete evaluation of hearing function was possible in 63 ears of the 44 patients with HCM, and in 39 ears of the 29 patients with DCM. Comparing the parameters (latencies, amplitudes) of BAEP waves there was no significant difference between the two patient groups. On the other hand the intensity of DPOAE was significantly smaller in HCM than in DCM. Cochlear lesions are more frequent in patients with HCM than patients with DCM.
Conclusions: These findings arise the hypothesis, that abnormal myosin might also be present in the muscular structures of the internal ear in HCM wich can be responsible for the hearing disorders of these patients.