Retrospective evaluation of the relationship between seasonal factors and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Year 2018, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 33 - 40, 05.04.2018

Kasım Durmuş Adem Bora Selim Çam Emine Elif Altuntaş

Abstract

Objective:
We aimed to investigate whether climatic conditions of the region where
we live and meteorological parameters had any effect on pathogenesis
and prognosis of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL)
or not.




Methods:
Sixty-eight ISSHL patients, who were treated in our department, were
evaluated retrospectively. Meteorological data, including monthly
ambient, maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity,
atmospheric pressure and rainfall, were obtained from the observation
station of the Central Weather Bureau of Sivas. The meteorological data
for 10 days before the onset of the disorder and in a period of 21 days
after the beginning of the treatment were used to investigate the
relationship between climatic data and ISSNHL. Siegel's criteria were
used to evaluate the treatment success.




Results: The
relationship between ISSNHL and seasons was observed to be
statistically significant when the seasonal distributions of the cases
were evaluated statistically (p<0.05; p=0.008). The change between
Siegel's criteria and season was also statistically significant
(p<0.001). As recovery in hearing of cases with ISSNHL in accordance
with Seigel's criteria and meteorological parameters were evaluated, a
statistically significant difference was determined in terms of weather
temperature; minimum pressure, and rainfall in the period of 10 days
before the treatment. However, when patients were evaluated based on
meteorological variables in the period of 21 days after the treatment,
there was a statistical correlation with the hearing recovery of the
patients according to Siegel's criteria only in terms of rainfall
(p<0.005).




Conclusion: Our
study is the first one indicating that there might be a relationship
between rainfall and both pathogenesis and prognosis of ISSNHL. Even
though the results of the related studies in the literature varied, we
concluded that the relationship between ISSNHL and temperature,
pressure, rainfall, and season should not be ignored.

Keywords

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, season, weather conditions, etiology, recovery

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