Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Cryosectioning and Immunostaining Mouse Inner Ear Tissue: From Embryonic to Adult Stages
Published on: April 11, 2025
Hearing and balance functions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Serpil Demir1, Anı Parabakan Polat2, Cevahir Bulut Turay1
1Department of Otolaryngology, Medical Faculty of Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey.
Background:
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease, characterized by multiple organ involvement, which is seen more often in young females.
Objectives:
To evaluate the hearing and balance functions in SLE patients.
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-four SLE patients, 24 healthy controls underwent pure tone audiometry (0.125-16 kHz), VNG, vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), and video head impulse test (vHIT).
Results:
A statistically significant difference was determined between the control group and the SLE group at 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10, 12, 14, and 16 kHz frequencies. Sensorineural hearing loss was observed in 37.5% of the SLE group. The pursuit test was pathological at the rate of 25% in the SLE group. No response was obtained in six SLE patients in the oVEMP test and four SLE patients in the cVEMP test. The mean posterior SCC VOR gain values were 0.64 ± 0.2 in the SLE group. A significant difference was determined between the groups with respect to posterior SCC VOR gains.
Conclusions And Significance:
Our findings show that SLE disease may negatively affect the hearing system and the vestibular system as well. The current study is the first study to comprehensively evaluate SLE patients with VNG, VEMP, and vHIT tests.
Related Concept Videos
Equilibrium and Balance
Auditory Perception
Hearing
The Vestibular System
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...

