Purpose: To determine hearing thresholds at sound frequencies important for speech comprehension in subjects with ocular pseudoexfoliation and to compare them with that of age- and sex-matched controls without pseudoexfoliation.
Design: Case-control study.
Participants: Eighty-three subjects with ocular pseudoexfoliation and 83 age- and gender-matched controls without pseudoexfoliation.
Methods: Pure tone audiometry (air and bone conduction) was performed at 1, 2, and 3 kilohertzes in all subjects. Hearing thresholds were compared with an age- and gender-stratified standard (ISO7029) and between study groups.
Main outcome measures: Individual hearing thresholds at 1, 2, and 3 kilohertz and hearing loss, defined as the sum of tested thresholds lower than the ISO7029 standard median.
Results: A total of 166 eligible subjects were evaluated. Equal numbers of male and female subjects were allocated into each of the study groups (60 male and 23 female subjects in either group). Mean ages of male and female participants did not significantly differ in cases versus controls (P = 0.88 and P = 0.83). Below average hearing thresholds were present in 88.4% of examined ears in the case group, versus 53.6% in the control group (P<0.001; odds ratio [OR], 6.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.49-11.79). Overall, 78 subjects (94.0%) in the case group, versus 58 subjects (69.9%) in the control group, had below average hearing in one or both ears (P<0.001; OR, 6.72; 95% CI, 2.42-18.62). Hearing thresholds at each of the examined frequencies and the total threshold were also significantly higher in individuals with pseudoexfoliation. Although glaucoma was significantly more common in subjects with pseudoexfoliation, it was not associated with below average hearing in any of the study groups.
Conclusions: Hearing thresholds at frequencies that are important for speech comprehension are significantly worse in individuals with ocular pseudoexfoliation than in matched controls. This finding may support the multiorgan nature of pseudoexfoliation syndrome.