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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2022; 26(03): e440-e445
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1739312
Original Research

Effects of Obesity on the Auditory Function of Children and Adolescents

Engin Başer 
1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
,
Havva Nur Peltek Kendirci 
2   Department of Pediartic Endocrinology, Hitit University, Faculty of Medicine, Corum, Turkey
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Abstract

Introduction Childhood and adolescent obesity is associated with insulin resistance, abnormal glucose metabolism, hypertension, dyslipidemia, inflammation, liver disease, and compromised vascular function.

Objective We aimed to evaluate the effects of obesity on the auditory function and speech audiometry of children and adolescents.

Methods Subjects with a body mass index (BMI) higher than +2 standard deviation (SD) were classified as obese, and subjects with normal BMI SD were classified as the control group. Blood samples were taken for glucose, insulin, and lipid profiles following an 8-hour fasting period, and a hepatobiliary ultrasound was performed. The homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. The audiological evaluation included pure-tone audiometry (PTA), speech reception threshold (SRT), and speech discrimination score (SDS).

Results The study included 100 children (50 girls) with obesity, with a mean age of 11.4 ± 2.9 years and 30 children with normal body weight, with a mean age of 11.9 ± 3.3 years. Of the children with obesity, 55% (n = 55) were found to have hyperlipidemia, 68% (n = 68) insulin resistance, and 21% (n = 21) hepatosteatosis. There were no statistically significant differences between children with obesity and the control group in terms of SDS or PTA, while SRT was found to be higher in children with obesity. There was no difference between obese children with or without hyperlipidemia, between obese children with or without insulin resistance, and between obese children with or without hepatosteatosis, according to hearing tests.

Conclusion The result of the present study indicates that children with obesity are more prone to having auditory problems than the normal population. We recommend more frequent audiological evaluations, including speech audiometry, in children and adolescents with obesity problems

Keywords

childhood - adolescent - obesity - pure-tone audiometry - speech audiometry

Informed Consent

“Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.” Written consent was taken from the parents at the beginning of the study, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.


Financial Disclosure

No financial disclosure.




Publication History

Received: 02 September 2020

Accepted: 23 March 2021

Article published online:
24 January 2022

© 2022. Fundação Otorrinolaringologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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