Rheumatoid Arthritis Does Not Increase Risk of Hearing Loss, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

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Mon Mar 6 07:30:00 2006 Pacific Time

Rheumatoid Arthritis Does Not Increase Risk of Hearing Loss,

Mayo Clinic Study Finds

ROCHESTER, Minn., March 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Mayo Clinic

researchers have found that people with rheumatoid arthritis are no

more likely to have hearing loss than other members of the general

population. The finding is contrary to previous study results that

linked the disease to elevated risk of hearing problems.

The study results will be presented Monday at the American

Auditory Society annual meeting in sdale, Ariz.

" This is very good news for rheumatoid arthritis patients, "

says Matteson, M.D., Mayo Clinic rheumatologist and senior study

researcher. " Patients with rheumatoid arthritis actually have

preserved hearing and are no more susceptible to hearing loss than

those who do not have the disease; there is no measurable difference

with standard testing. This was surprising. I expected to see more

hearing loss in rheumatoid arthritis patients. "

The study included 29 patients ages 40 to 69 who had

rheumatoid arthritis for more than five years, categorized by decades

of age. The researchers compared them to 30 participants of the same

gender and age categories who did not have rheumatoid arthritis. All

participants had comprehensive hearing tests and questionnaires to

measure hearing and dizziness handicaps and assess their overall

health. Seventeen of 29 patients with rheumatoid arthritis had

abnormal hearing for at least one sound frequency (a measure of

pitch), as did 14 of 30 of those without rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Matteson notes, however, that the findings do not mean

that hearing loss is never related to rheumatoid arthritis. " Hearing

loss can be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis, but it doesn't seem to

be more of a problem than in the general population, " he says.

The researchers found that though no objective difference was

detected in comprehensive hearing evaluations of rheumatoid arthritis

patients compared to those without the disease, the rheumatoid

arthritis patients were more likely to perceive that they had hearing

problems. This phenomenon was most pronounced in those who had more

severe rheumatoid arthritis and had disabilities due to the disease.

" Perhaps this is due to severe disability and thus an overall

feeling of helplessness, " says Dr. Matteson. " People who have

profound disability may generalize their disabilities to other areas

of the body - they just feel worse overall. "

Among the rheumatoid arthritis patients who had hearing loss,

most often the loss was partial and due to nerve problems in the

inner ear (sensorineural). The cause of this loss is uncertain, but

may be due to factors such as noise exposure according to the

researchers. In addition, the hearing loss may be related to an

autoimmune attack in which the immune system attacks the cochlea, the

inner ear cavity containing hair cells and the nerves which connect

the cochlea to the brain. The researchers also noted a possible link

between the hearing loss and rheumatoid arthritis medications, as

patients who took hydroxychloroquine were somewhat more likely to

have hearing problems than other study participants.

Critical next steps in this research, according to Dr.

Matteson, are a large study of hearing loss among members of the

general population with and without rheumatoid arthritis, in addition

to a study to assess the impact of rheumatoid arthritis medications

on hearing.

The research team also included Halligan, M.D.;

Bauch, Ph.D.; Brey, Ph.D.; Sara Achenbach and

Bamlet, all of Mayo Clinic.