Ototoxic hearing loss in the multi-drug resistant tuberculosis era

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing loss in tuberculosis patients using Ototoxic medicines and association with demographic and clinical variables. Methods: This cross sectional study recruited a sample of n= 65 diagnosed cases of tuberculosis on ototoxic chemotherapy, of both genders, aged 12 to 70 years, using non-probability convenience sampling. Study was conducted at Audiology Department of Civil Hospital Bahawalpur, over a period of 6 months from 1st May, 2019 to 31st October 2019. Screening was performed using medical history sheet, otoscopy and hearing assessment. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS- Version 21.0. Results: Results revealed a gender proportion of 43 (66.2%) males and 22(33.8%) females with mean age of 35.87+9.35 years. The prevalence of hearing loss was 23.1% (n=15) with mild hearing loss in 73.33% cases and moderate hearing loss 26.67%. Hearing loss was associated with drug, its duration and associated symptoms of tinnitus and vertigo with p=0.000. Discussion: It is concluded that hearing loss is quite prevalent (23.1%) with multidrug resistant tuberculosis treatment in this region and is significantly associated with the drug used, its duration and associated symptoms.