Children: HIV/AIDS and Hearing Loss

HIV status and hearing loss among children between 6 and 12 years of age at a large urban health facility in south western Uganda

“…Otitis media is also a common diagnosis among children seen in many ENT clinics in resource limited settings and among HIV positive children and this is evident in our study population. For patients with SNHL, the high prevalence of SNHL seen among the HIV positive children is similar to findings from other studies conducted both locally and abroad [8, 11, 20]. Suggested theories of the pathophysiology of SNHL in HIV infection include effect of the disease process and drugs on mitochondrial function causing ototoxicity in patients who are predisposed [26, 27].…”

“…A case control study by Taipale et al [19] in Angola using either pure tone audiometry or evoked potentials also showed a higher prevalence of HL among HIV positive children compared to the HIV negative. Studies suggest that higher prevalence of HL among HIV positive children may be because HIV positive children are more predisposed to developmental abnormalities, opportunistic infections and are exposed to several drugs that increase their predisposition to HL [20]. Studies have shown that when a disease process is considered ‘serious’, there is a higher likelihood of seeking healthcare [21].…”

“…Suggested theories of the pathophysiology of SNHL in HIV infection include effect of the disease process and drugs on mitochondrial function causing ototoxicity in patients who are predisposed [26, 27]. Other studies have attributed the SNHL to neurological effects of the HIV infection and opportunistic infections like meningitis on the central auditory centres leading to neural HL [20]. …”

Potenciais evocados auditivos de longa latência em adultos com HIV/Aids

“…Studies also show that as the disease progresses there is a progressive damage to the Central Nervous System (CNS) that includes the central nervous auditory system (CNAS) by the direct action of the virus on the CNS structures or due to the opportunistic infections (1,(5)(6).…”

Estudo da função auditiva em indivíduos com HIV/AIDS submetidos e não submetidos à terapia antirretroviral

“…Studies in the literature have shown that the progression of AIDS may impair the Central Nervous System (CNS) and modify the auditory system both in its peripheral and central portions, justifying the investigation of the auditory pathways as a whole (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) .…”