Effect of interferon treatment on hearing of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Some reports in the literature have linked interferon therapy for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) with hearing loss. The aim of this study has been to examine the effects of interferon therapy on hearing of patients treated for HCV.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were recruited according to preset inclusion criteria from two centers. All patients received standard dose pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN a-2b or a-2a) plus ribavirin (RBV). All patients had pure-tone audiometry (PTA), tympanogram and distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) before treatment, three months after initiation of treatment, and three months after completion of treatment.

RESULTS: Twenty one patients were prospectively recruited. The mean age was 45.7 years. The male to female ratio was 1.1:1. The mean PTA was 15.9 ± 5.3 before treatment, 17.4 ± 6.1 during treatment and 16.5 ± 5.1 after treatment. The differences between pre and mid, pre and post, as well as mid and post were not significantly different (P>0.05) in all audiological assessments.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that PEG-IFN\RBV therapy does not have any impact on the hearing thresholds of patients with HCV.