Contribution of hearing loss to quality-of-life impairment in Menière patients

What is it about?

Menière´s Disease (MD) is characterized by vertigo attacks, low-frequency hearing loss (HL) and fluctuating aural symptoms. Current treatment concepts for MD focus on stabilizing the quality-of-life impairing vertigo. Hearing rehabilitation is often secondary. The presented study investigated the impact of hearing loss on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and functionality in daily life activities.

Featured Image

Photo by Brannon Naito on Unsplash

Photo by Brannon Naito on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Data was extracted from the prospective patient registry of the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders. Functionality was measured with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Patients were categorized according to the diagnostic criteria of the Bárány Society into definite and probable MD. Influence of the pure tone average of the frequencies 0.5, 1, 2 kHz (PTAlow), staging of hearing loss of the WHO (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz=PTAWHO), and MD-category of the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium Research (CHE) on HRQoL and functionality were analyzed via biavariate correlations. Results No correlation was found for 109 patients between DHI-subdomains and PTAlow, MD-categories of the Bárány Society, or the CHE. Significantly stronger impairment was found in the EQ-5D subdomain "subjective handicap" for DMD patients for "participation" in daily life activities (p=0.015) and "walking" (p=0.041).

Perspectives