Prevalence of Hearing Loss among Sickle Cell Patients at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is one of the commonest blood and genetic disorders in the world. It results when abnormal haemoglobin (Hb S, Hb C, Hb β-thalassemia) is found either in the homozygous or heterozygote state. Sickle cell disease causes painful vascular occlusion crisis, anoxia and ischaemia which sometimes lead to tissue or organ damage including the auditory system especially the blood rich cochlear. Damage to the auditory system eventually causes hearing loss. Aim: The study assessed the hearing status of the sickle cell disease patients reporting to the Adult Sickle Cell Clinic of the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital. Methods: A case control study involving 100 known genotyped sickle cell patients from the adult SCD Clinic at the Ghana Institute of Clinical Genetics, Korle-Bu Teaching hospital and age-matched 100 confirmed haemoglobin AA genotyped participants (staff and students of School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana) constituted this study. Subjects were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. A structured questionnaire was administered to obtain basic information on socio-demographic parameters and case history of the participants. Their hearing was assessed by pure tone audiometry in a sound treated booth. Results: A significant association between hearing status and hemoglobin genotype for air and bone conduction thresholds was observed. This was evidenced by relatively higher prevalence of hearing loss among participants with Hb SS and Hb SC genotypes (cases) compared to respondents with Hb AA genotype (control) at the respective tested frequencies. Conclusion: There is significant difference in hearing thresholds in persons living with SCD and the control group. Results from this study showed one type of loss (sensorineural hearing loss) among Ghanaian adult SCD patients. Likewise, the degree of hearing loss among the SCD patients ranged from mild to profound from 2000 Hz to 8000 Hz. Finally, sensorineural hearing loss presented more among the Hb SS genotype group than the Hb SC group. Keywords: Sickle cell disease, vascular occlusion, haemoglobin, haemolysis, hearing loss.