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Hypotension as an isolated factor may not be sufficient to provoke hearing impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

Antonio Pirodda
Affiliation:
Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Gian Gaetano Ferri
Affiliation:
Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Teresa Montana
Affiliation:
Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Raffaella Riggio
Affiliation:
Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
Grazia Innocenti
Affiliation:
Anaesthesiological Service, S. Orsola Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
Gianfranco Di Nino
Affiliation:
Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the possible role of hypotension and related autonomic phenomena in the pathogenic mechanism of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Methods: Forty-nine patients belonging to the ASA I-II classes of anaesthesiological risk and submitted to a non-otological surgical procedure were examined. Each operation was performed under general anaesthesia by controlled hypotension technique. Hearing function of the patients was evaluated before and after surgery by means of a pure tone audiometry recorded by the same clinician with the same instrument.

Results: No cases of bilateral hearing worsening were recorded after surgery.

Conclusions: An induced and controlled steady hypotension under general anaesthesia did not affect the hearing function of any of the patients. It may be supposed, therefore, that an adverse effect on the cochlear oxygenation is more likely to be caused by the sympathetic changes induced by a consistent decrease of blood pressure rather than to hypotension itself.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2004 Royal Society of Medicine Press

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