Hearing Loss in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure with Hemodialysis Treatment

Lee, Keum Hyung; Park, Young Hak; Kang, Jun Myung; Kim, Young Ok; Lee, Seung Kyun; Kwon, Yong Jae; Cho, Seung Ho

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hemodialysis (HD) is a valid treatment modality in patients with chronic renal failure, but it has been noted as a possible cause of hearing impairment. There have been many efforts to elucidate the etiologic factors of hearing impairment in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) with HD. But, there were no identified causes of hearing impairment. This study was undertaken to determine the correlating factors and the degree and types of hearing impairment in patients with CRF with HD treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We studied clinical status of 46 patients (92 ears) with CRF with HD treatment about hearing threshold, blood level of hemoglobin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), parathyroid hormone (PTH), b2-microglobulin, duration of HD, and erythropoietin treatment between August, 1998 and October, 1998 at hemodialysis room, Uijongbu St. Mary's Hospital.
RESULTS
The 33 patients (60 ears) had hearing loss, and 15 patients (22 ears) among them had clinically significant hearing loss. In hearing loss group, 31 patients showed the sensorineural type, one conductive type, and one mixed type. There was no significant correlation between the degree of hearing impairment and duration of HD, level of hemoglobin, BUN, PTH and beta2-microglobulin. The group of CRF with diabetes mellitus (DM) showed high incidence of clinically significant hearing impairment. Erythropoietin treatment was negatively correlated with hearing impairment.
CONCLUSION
DM was a probable cause of hearing impairment and treatment of anemia with erythro-poietin administration seemed to be a possible preventing factor.