Investigation of Stress Levels before the Onset of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

• Published in: The journal of international advanced otology Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 51 - 55
• Main Authors: Watanabe, Hiroyuki, Sano, Hajime, Maki, Atsuko, Ino, Takeshi, Nakagawa, Takahito, Okamoto, Makito, Yamashita, Taku
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Turkey AVES 01.04.2019; Mediterranean Society for Otology and Audiology; The European Academy of Otology and Neurotology
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers - metabolism; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; Female; Glycated Hemoglobin A - analysis; Hearing loss; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - blood; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - diagnosis; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - psychology; Hearing Loss, Sudden - blood; Hearing Loss, Sudden - diagnosis; Hearing Loss, Sudden - psychology; Hearing protection; Hemoglobin; Humans; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Original; Otology; Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Physiology; Psychological aspects; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Stress, Physiological; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Viral infections; Japan
• ISSN: 1308-7649; 2148-3817
• DOI: 10.5152/iao.2019.6197

We hypothesized that patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) would have experienced more stress prior to the onset than they typically did. This study investigated stress levels in patients before the onset of ISSHL. Forty-two patients with ISSHL were investigated. We used an original questionnaire to evaluate subjective stress levels in 1 week before onset. Serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and total cholesterol were examined to evaluate biochemical stress markers reflecting the preceding 1 to 2 months. The results on admission were compared with those at the follow-up visit. Significantly more patients reported greater physical exhaustion, greater mental exhaustion, or a worse physical condition on admission than at follow-up (p<0.01, for each variable). On admission, 81% of patients reported greater than normal stress with regard to at least 1 of 3 items. The mean serum HbA1c was slightly but nonsignificantly lower at the follow-up visit (p=0.10), while the mean serum total cholesterol was significantly lower at follow-up than on admission (p<0.01). The results indicate that patients were under a greater degree of stress before the onset of ISSHL, suggesting that stress plays a role in inducing ISSHL.