ISSN: 2161-0460

Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
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  • Research Article   
  • J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2017, Vol 7(6): 396
  • DOI: 10.4172/2161-0460.1000396

Assessment of Hearing Impairment in Parkinson's Disease: Implications for Differential Diagnosis and Disease Progression

Roberta Di Mauro1*, Giulia Di Lazzaro2, Tommaso Schirinzi2, Federica Martino1, Nicola B. Mercuri2,3, Emanuela Fuccillo1, Antonio Pisani2,3 and Stefano Di Girolamo1
1Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy
2Neurology, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy
3Fondazione Santa Lucia I.R.C.C.S, , Rome, Italy
*Corresponding Author : Roberta Di Mauro, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy, Tel: +39-06-72596010, Fax: +39-06-73596006, Email: robertadimauro@hotmail.it

Received Date: Oct 17, 2017 / Accepted Date: Nov 01, 2017 / Published Date: Nov 08, 2017

Abstract

Background and objective: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) are still underestimated and causative of disability and poor quality of life. Recently, it has been suggested that hearing impairment could be included into the spectrum of NMS, although both mechanisms and phenomenology are unclear. In this study we investigated the peripheral auditory pathway of PD, in patients with asymmetric rest tremor (ART) without dopaminergic denervation, and comparison with healthy controls (HC), aiming to detect differential alterations of cochlear functioning and medial olivocochlear system (MOC).
Methods: 23 PD patients, 9 with ART and 19 HC were assessed for auditory functions with clinical examination and Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). PD and ART groups were also evaluated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II-III and Hoehn and Yahr scale. One-way ANOVA analysis and Pearson's test were performed to measure differences between groups and correlations.
Results: TEOAE responses in PD patients were significantly lower compared to HC at 3 and 4 kHz, bilaterally. PD patients showed statistically significant lower TEOAEs at the same frequencies compared to ARTs. In addition, a MOC dysfunction in PD patients was observed. Conversely, no difference was found between ART and HC in all tests performed.
Conclusion: PD patients, differently from both ART patients and HC, show abnormalities of basal TEOAEs at the highest frequencies. Auditory dysfunction correlates to motor disturbances, suggesting an underlying dopaminergic pathogenic mechanism. Early recognition of hearing impairment may represent a tool for patient assessment and help in the differential diagnosis in ART patients.

Keywords: Non-motor symptoms; Parkinson’s disease; Asymmetric rest Tremor; Hearing impairment; OAEs; Cochlear function; Medial olivocochlear system

Citation: Di Mauro R, Di Lazzaro G, Schirinzi T, Martino F, Mercuri NB, et al. (2017) Assessment of Hearing Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: Implications for Differential Diagnosis and Disease Progression. J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 7: 396. Doi: 10.4172/2161-0460.1000396

Copyright: © 2017 Di Mauro R, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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