Assessment of hearing via otoacoustic emission in patients that underwent spinal anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE In this study, our aim is to show the differences between the preoperative and postoperative otoacoustic emissions (OAE) value in patients, who underwent spinal anesthesia. PATIENTS AND METHODS The presented study was carried out as a randomized, double-blinded, prospective study upon the approval of Ethics Committee of Medicine School, Erciyes University. The study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. The study involved 39 ASA I-II patients (aged 18-65 years), who underwent varicectomy operation in the Cardiovascular Surgery Department. For each of the patients, 3 OAE measurements were performed; the day before surgery, during surgery and the 1st day after surgery. RESULTS Significant differences were detected between the 2000 F2 measurements performed before, during and after the surgery (p<0.05). The differences originated from measurements performed before and during surgery. Significant differences were detected among 3000 F1 measurements performed before, during and after surgery (p<0.05). Hearing loss is one of the late complications of spinal anesthesia. In this study, we observed the differences between the preoperative and postoperative OAE values. The incidence of hearing loss detectable with auditory measurements has been reported to vary between 10 and 50%. Of these, 25% is clinically relevant or recognizable. However, it is considered to be a subjective test, because it is influenced from mental, motor and psychological status of the patient. But the management in hearing loss following spinal anesthesia is still controversial. Hearing loss is generally spontaneously resolved within a few days. However, there are case reports of hearing loss lasting for months. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we observed differences between some preoperative and postoperative OAE values.