AUDIOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS IN SMOKERS: AS SEEN AT AN AUDIOLOGICAL SETUP

Objective: To determine the frequency of audiological findings and their characteristics among smokers in an audiology setup. Study Design: It was a cross sectional descriptive study. Place & Duration: Study was carried out at PGMI/AMC /LGH LAHORE and Iqra Medical Complex, Lahore. The duration of study was 6 months (from October 2017 to March 2018). Methodology: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which 200 patients 20-70 years old were included, utilizing convenient sampling method and subjected to audiological assessment as part of routine medical examination. Patients with NIHL (noise induced hearing loss) and identified cases of Otosclerosis and Meniere’s disease were expelled from study. Audiological assessment included tympanometry, otoscopy and pure tone audiometry, following demographic data collection including smoking history. Data collected through proforma was analyzed and tabulated using SPSS version 20. Variables particularly studied were otoscopic findings; severity, type and HL configuration as well as tympanometry screening findings. Results: During study 200 patients with M: F ratio of 4.88: 1 were included and the mean age was 39.85+1.05 years. Among these patients, 39% were smokers and 61% were non-smokers while HL was observed among 72.13% smokers and 27.87% non-smokers. Sensorineural hearing loss was found among 72.73% smokers, followed by conductive HL (22.73%) and mixed hearing loss (4.55%). The mild hearing loss was observed among 50% smokers, followed by moderate (40.91%) and severe hearing loss (9.09%). Flat curve was noted among 70.45% followed by sloping among 29.55% smokers. Conclusion: Study concluded that cigarette smoking leads to adverse audiological findings, hence, smoking cessation should be considered to save this vital sensory structure.