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Sudden sensorineural hearing loss and hemostatic mechanisms
H Einer1, L Tengborn, A Axelsson
1Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, Sahlgrenska Hospital, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
Objective:
To evaluate the possible causal role of pathologic hemostatic mechanisms in sudden hearing loss.
Design:
The study was prospective.
Setting:
The patients were hospitalized, and all tests were performed at the hospital.
Patients:
Thirty-two consecutive patients with sudden hearing loss participated, as well as a control group of 28 healthy individuals. The control group was matched with regard to body mass index.
Main Outcome Measures:
Venous blood analyses were made regarding general blood parameters, as well as specific hemostatic parameters.
Results:
Twenty-five of the patients had some kind of aberration of specific hemostasis parameters; seven patients had an increase in the activity of the plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (ie, a glycoprotein associated with diminished fibrinolysis) compared with that in the control group (P < .05). Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor levels were most frequently observed among the patients who were overweight. Seven of the oldest patients had an increase of D-dimers, ie, a degradation product of fibrin, and most of these patients had a history of cardiovascular disease.
Conclusion:
Although isolated aberrations in the hemostatic pathway were observed, we concluded that pathologic hemostasis does not seem to have a decisive importance for the pathogenesis of sudden deafness.