Peripheral Auditory Function in Young HIV-Positive Adults With Clinically Normal Hearing.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Peripheral auditory function in young adults with HIV is not well understood.
• HIV infection and its treatment may impact hearing, potentially leading to early hearing loss.
• Assessing auditory function in this population is crucial for early detection and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare peripheral auditory function in young adults with and without HIV.
• To identify potential differences in hearing metrics between HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals with clinically normal hearing.

Main Methods:

• A matched cohort study design was employed with 76 participants (38 HIV-positive, 38 HIV-negative) aged 20-30 years.
• Participants underwent repeated audiological assessments over 6-month intervals, including tympanometry, audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs).
• Clinically normal hearing was defined by specific criteria for tympanograms, air conduction thresholds, and DPOAEs.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found in age, static immittance, or air conduction thresholds between the groups.
• HIV-positive individuals exhibited significantly lower DPOAE amplitudes (approximately 3.7 dB) from 2-8 kHz in both ears.
• HIV-positive individuals also showed lower auditory brainstem response wave I amplitudes (0.04 µV) in the right ear.

Conclusions:

• Young adults living with HIV demonstrate reliably smaller DPOAEs and auditory brainstem response wave I amplitudes compared to age- and gender-matched HIV-negative controls.
• While the observed differences are small, they underscore the importance of regularly measuring peripheral auditory function in individuals with HIV as they age.
• These findings contribute to understanding the long-term audiological effects of HIV and its management.