Hearing and Balance Dysfunction in Sjogren Syndrome

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine hearing and postural abnormalities in Sjogren Syndrome compared to control subjects.Study Design: Case-control.Methods: Twenty five patients with Sjogren Syndrome were included in the study from those attending the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic in Kasr Al-Aini. All subjects underwent the following procedures: Complete medical and otological history, conventional pure tone audiometry (PTA) and speech audiometry. Balance evaluation included posturography and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.Results: The present study revealed 16 patients with sensorineural hearing loss out of the 25 patients included in the study. Ten of them had bilateral and 6 patients had unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The control group had asymptomatic hearing loss that was detected only on pure tone audiometry testing. Although this is a high incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in Sjogren Syndrome patients, yet is not considered a major problem in those patients. Nevertheless, mild to moderate high frequency SNHL of cochlear origin is not uncommon. As regards balance, most patients had apparently normal response waves; there was a highly significant delay in P13 latency in both ears with borderline significant delay in N23 on the left side only. None of our patients showed any abnormalities as regards SOT results.Conclusion: Sjogren Syndrome is associated with hearing loss that affects high frequency; this hearing loss is more related to age rather than the disease process or medications taken for the disease.