Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome closely linked to high-frequency hearing loss

In a recent study by Chaoyu Wang and team, the Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) group had a greater rate of hearing loss, primarily high-frequency hearing loss, as compared to the control group. The findings of this study were published in Frontiers in Neurology.

According to the World Health Organization, there are 1.5 billion people who suffer from hearing loss globally. Hearing loss may be an avoidable risk factor in the form of OSA. In other words, OSA therapy may lessen the likelihood of hearing loss. Although the underlying cause of the link between OSA and hearing loss is unknown, it is believed that long-term hypoxia caused damage to the cochlear hair cells. In order to investigate the connection between OSAHS and hearing loss through meta-analysis, this study was carried out.

From their inception until July 1st, 2022, databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and others are searched. Two researchers independently screen, extract data from, and evaluate the quality of the included literature on the connection between OSAHS and hearing loss. The meta-analysis is carried out with RevMan 5.4.1. For meta-analysis, a random-effects model or fixed-effects model is employed depending on the heterogeneity between studies.

The key findings of this study were:

There are a total of 10 studies with 7,867 subjects-1,832 in the OSAHS group and 6,035 in the control group—across 10 articles. 

The meta-analysis demonstrates that there are more OSAHS patients with hearing impairment than in the control group, and that their average hearing threshold is also greater. 

The meta-analysis reveals that the OSAHS group has a higher threshold of 0.25 and response amplitudes at frequencies 2, 4, and 8 kHz are all greater than those of the control group after stratifying the included studies according to hearing frequency.

In conclusion, hearing loss is primarily present at higher frequencies and is closely correlated with OSAHS, which is also a risk factor for hearing loss.

Reference:

Wang, C., Xu, F., Chen, M., Chen, X., Li, C., Sun, X., Zhang, Y., Liao, H., Wu, Q., Chen, H., Li, S., Zhu, J., Lin, J., Ou, X., Zou, Z., Li, Y., Chen, R., Zheng, Z., & Wang, Y. (2022). Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome with hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis. In Frontiers in Neurology (Vol. 13). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.1017982