Plasma Levels of Interleukin 2 (IL-2) Associated with Hearing Loss Evaluation in the Elderly

Presbycusis can be mediated by the effects of inflammatory processes on the auditory system, and these aging biological mechanisms remain poorly studied.

The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma biomarkers are associated with hearing disorders caused by aging in the elderly.

Cross-sectional study with 106 participants in the Active Aging Project, 93 (88%) females and 13 (12%) males, with an average age of 70 years.

Audiological evaluation was performed with pure tone audiometry and collection of peripheral blood for the measurement of plasma levels of interleukins 2, 4, 6, and 10, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ by means of flow cytometry.

The SPSS (v.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA) was used for the analysis of the data obtained. For all data analyzed, the significance level adopted was P < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval.

There were statistically significant correlations between male and IL-2 (P = 0.031; rs = 0.210), mean II of the right ear (P = 0.004; rs = 0.279), longer in years (P = 0.002; rs = 0.307) and in hours (P = 0.004; rs = 0.281) of noise exposure also in males.

In the present study, there was an association between the male gender and higher plasma levels of IL-2, an increase in the average hearing in the right ear, and greater time in years and hours of exposure to noise. There was a predominance of mild sensorineural hearing loss and worsening of hearing related to age, characteristics of presbycusis.