H. Einer et al., SUDDEN SENSORINEURAL HEARING-LOSS AND HEMOSTATIC MECHANISMS, Archives of otolaryngology, head & neck surgery, 120(5), 1994, pp. 536-540
Objective: To evaluate the possible causal role of pathologic hemostat
ic mechanisms in sudden hearing loss. Design: The study was prospectiv
e. Setting: The patients were hospitalized, and all tests were perform
ed at the hospital. Patients: Thirty-two consecutive patients with sud
den hearing loss participated, as well as a control group of 28 health
y individuals. The control group was matched with regard to body mass
index. Main Outcome Measures: Venous blood analyses were made regardin
g general blood parameters, as well as specific hemostatic parameters.
Results: Twenty-five of the patients had some kind of aberration of s
pecific hemostasis parameters; seven patients had an increase in the a
ctivity of the plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (ie, a glycoprotein a
ssociated with diminished fibrinolysis) compared with that in the cont
rol group (P<.05). Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor levels we
re most frequently observed among the patients who were overweight. Se
ven of the oldest patients had an increase of D-dimers, ie, a degradat
ion product of fibrin, and most of these patients had a history of car
diovascular disease. Conclusion: Although isolated aberrations in the
hemostatic pathway were observed, we concluded that pathologic hemosta
sis does not seem to have a decisive importance for the pathogenesis o
f sudden deafness.