Risk of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Patients with Common Preexisting Sensorineural Hearing Impairment: A Population-Based Study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVE The role of preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment on the risk for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the risk of SSHL in patients with common preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment using population-based data. METHODS A population-based case-control study design was used to analyze claims data between January 2001 and December 2011 obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The cases consisted of 514 patients with SSHL and the controls were frequency matched to 2,570 cases by sex, 10-year age group, and year of index date. Common sensorineural hearing impairments were retrospectively assessed in the cases and controls. Associations between sensorineural hearing impairment and risk of SSHL were evaluated using unconditional univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS The mean age for the 3,084 study subjects was 53.1 years (standard deviation, S.D. = 15.6). Of the 514 cases, 49 (9.5%) had sensorineural hearing impairment while only 44 (1.7%) of the 2,570 controls had the same condition. Univariate logistic regression analyses indicated that preexisting sensorineural hearing impairment was significantly associated with SSHL (odds ratio, OR = 6.05, p < 0.001). Other comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia also showed significant associations with SSHL. Similar results were obtained when the association between SSHL and sensorineural hearing impairment was adjusted with either all the covariates (adjusted OR = 6.22, p < 0.001) or with only those selected using a backward elimination procedure (adjusted OR = 6.20, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Results from this population-based case-control study revealed that common sensorineural hearing impairment might be a novel risk factor for SSHL.