Lipid Profile among Patients with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Associations between hearing and blood lipids have been the focus of scientific inquiry for more than 50 years. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the association between hyperlipidaemia among patients presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss compared to normal controls. A case control study concerned with 22 patients presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss who underwent lipid profile evaluation. The lipid profile of these patients was compared with corresponding results of 55 age matched persons (volunteers) with normal hearing. These patients were collected from the Out Patient Department of ENT at Al-Jamhory Teaching Hospital, Mosul/Iraq and private clinic of the author for the period from February 2011 to July 2013. The average age of patients was 44.7 years with a range of 26–65 years. The peak age incidence was in the 5^th decade of life. The study included 11 male patients (50 %) and 11 females (50 %). Meanwhile, the average age of the control group was 41.7 years with 25 (45.5 %) males and 30 (54.5 %) females. Statistical analysis showed that there was significant difference between the means of lipid profile and blood sugar of the patients and the control group apart from HDL where there was no significant difference. In conclusion, hyperlipidemia seems to be significantly associated with the occurrence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss according to this study.