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Association between hearing loss and saccular dysfunction in older individuals.
Maria Geraldine Zuniga1, Roni E Dinkes, Marcela Davalos-Bichara
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
Summary
Hearing loss in older adults is linked to reduced saccular function, not semicircular canal or utricular function. Age and noise exposure impact both hearing and saccular health, suggesting screening for saccular dysfunction in those with hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction are common in older adults.
- The relationship between specific vestibular end-organs and hearing loss requires further elucidation.
- Shared risk factors may link cochlear and vestibular deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between hearing loss and the function of five vestibular end-organs in individuals aged 70 and older.
- To determine if hearing loss and vestibular end-organ deficits share common risk factors.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted at an academic medical center.
- Fifty-one participants aged 70+ underwent audiometry, head-thrust dynamic visual acuity (htDVA), sound-evoked cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and tap-evoked ocular VEMP (oVEMP).
- Audiometric pure-tone averages (PTA), htDVA LogMAR scores, and cVEMP/oVEMP amplitudes were used to assess cochlear, semicircular canal, saccular, and utricular function, respectively.
Main Results:
- A significant correlation was found between high-frequency hearing loss and reduced saccular function (cVEMP amplitudes) (r = -0.37, p < 0.0001).
- Hearing loss was not associated with utricular function (oVEMP amplitudes) or semicircular canal function (htDVA).
- Age and noise exposure were significantly associated with both cochlear and saccular dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- The age-related decline in cochlear and saccular function may stem from their shared origin in the otic labyrinth's pars inferior.
- Noise exposure is implicated in both saccular and cochlear dysfunction.
- Screening for saccular dysfunction in individuals with presbycusis, especially those with noise exposure, may help identify fall risk in the elderly.
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