The Effects of Oral Isotretinoin (13-Cis Retinoic Acid) on the Inner Ear: A Clinical Study

Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients (50 ears) with acne vulgaris who were treated with isotretinoin 5mg/kg were included in this study. Two patients gave up using isotretinoin after two months. Pure tone audiometry, TEOAE and DPOAE were evaluated before the use of isotretinoin and after 4 months of treatment. DPOAE was recorded as a DPgram. Results: Pre-treatment and post-treatment pure tone threshold average changes for all frequencies were statistically significant. The difference between the pre-treatment and post-treatment distortion product amplitudes and signal–noise ratio values were not significantly different. When the pre-treatment and post-treatment TEOAE amplitudes according to frequencies were compared, there was no significant difference between pre-treatment and post treatment values. Conclusion: The results support the conclusion that acne vulgaris patients using isotretinoin has bilateral hearing threshold changes despite the absence of significant DPOAE and TEOAE amplitude levels. Further animal and human studies with histopathological findings are required to investigate the effect of isotretinoin on the inner ear.