Effects of hemodialysis on pure-tone thresholds and blood chemistry measures

Eight adults suffering from end-stage renal disease and undergoing hemodialysis were subjected to pure tone audiometry before and after each of five consecutive hemodialysis treatments. In addition, pre-treatment and post-treatment blood chemistries were analyzed. Computer statistics for these audiometric and physiologic variables indicated that these subjects, as a group, did not exhibit significant differences in threshold before and after hemodialysis, although individual differences did appear. No trend regarding the direction of change was evident. However, threshold shifts did occur which might reflect transient imbalance in the labyrinthine system produced by hemodialysis.