Should the ophthalmologic examination be performed in presbyacusis patients for early diagnosis of pseudoexfoliation syndrome?

Abstract

AIM: To find out if presbyacusis is a predictive clinical parameter for early diagnosis of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PES). METHODS: This is a prospective, case-control study. 30 patients with PES in one or both eyes constituted the study group and the other 30 presbyacusis patients were in control group. Pure-tone hearing threshold levels (HTLs) were measured at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz. Tympanometric peak values and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) testing results were also recorded. All subjects underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination. RESULTS: Distribution of the hearing levels was different between the study group and control group. Mild hearing loss (21-40 dB) was higher in control group than that in study group. Mean hearing thresholds at each of the examined frequencies were compared directly between the two groups. Clinically significant differences were found when we compared mean pure-tone HTLs between the 2 ears of the two groups. However, there was not a statistically and clinically significant difference between the 2 ears mean pure-tone HTLs at high frequency (4 kHz). CONCLUSION: We concluded that patients who are diagnosed with presbyacusis in ear, nose, and throat should not be performed any ophthalmic examinations, which would save time and money in daily clinical practice.