Is preeclampsia a new risk factor for cochlear damage and hearing loss?

We investigated whether preeclampsia is a risk factor for cochlear damage and permanent hearing loss.

Prospective case-control study design.

Academic tertiary medical center.

Subjects included 40 patients with preeclampsia and 30 healthy pregnant women.

Otoscopic examinations and pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), and stapedial reflex tests were conducted for all subjects. Negative audiologic tests were reevaluated after the postpartum period. Statistical analyses were performed using χ and binary logistic regression testing.

We searched for signs of middle ear ventilation, damage of cochlea, and sensorineural hearing loss.

Eight patients from the preeclampsia group had 1 or more otological problems. Two patients from the control group were determined as having otological problems. Otoacoustic emissions of the right and left ears (p = 0.029, p = 0.044), hearing levels of right and left ear bone conduction (BC) at the 500-Hz frequency (right and left-BC 500), and left ear at the 2,000-Hz frequency (left-BC 2000) differed significantly between the preeclampsia and control groups (p = 0.040, p = 0.003, and p = 0.003). There was no significant difference in the OAEs between the right and left ears in the preeclampsia group (p < 0.05). The variables BC 500-left, BC 500-right, OAE-right, and OAE-left differed significantly between groups based on binary logistic testing. The odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for these 4 risk variables were as follows: BC 500-left, 1.167 (1.044-1.306); BC 500-right, 1.117 (1.002-1.244); OAE-right, 0.642 (0.505-0.815); and OAE-left, 0.576 (0.475-0.698), respectively.

Preeclampsia is a risk factor for cochlear damage and permanent hearing loss. Even if preeclampsia resolves after delivery, cochlear damage and permanent hearing loss remain unchanged in patients with preeclampsia.