[Influence of capsular pseudoexfoliation syndrome on hearing loss]

Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome (PEX) is a genetic-inherited disorder, consisting of the deposition of elastin microfibers in intra and extraocular tissue. PEX is one of the most common identifiable secondary causes of glaucoma. Several studies have associated PEX with systemic conditions and the finding of fibrillar material in the structures of the inner ear, similar to that of pseudoexfoliation detected in the eye, has been described.

to compare audiometric levels in patients with and without ocular PEX. Materials and Methods: Retrospective case-control study. 48 medical records of patients who attended the ophthalmology service of the Private Hospital of Córdoba were selected between January 2015 and December 2017, between 59 and 75 years. They were divided into groups: controls (n = 22): without PEX and cases (n = 26): with PEX. The medical records of patients who underwent ophthalmological and audiometric studies were analyzed. For the statistical analysis, the Student's T test was used for independent and paired samples; in all cases a level of significance ≤ 0.05 was considered.

The percentage of hearing loss was 56.8% in the control group and 82.7% in the PEX group. The percentage disability in the group with PEX was greater in monaural (p = 0.0008) and biaural (p = 0.0307) hearing compared to patients without PEX.

Patients with ocular PEX showed a higher percentage of hearing loss, compared to those patients without ophthalmic evidence of PEX.