title: Sickle cell anemia: audiological findings.
abstract: The investigation was conducted to determine if there are any characteristic manifestations detectable in the auditory system having some connection with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Hearing loss is easily subjected to analysis and appeared to offer objectivity in probing for possible communicative complications affecting individuals with SCA symptomatology. Employing standardized procedures" the hearing acuity of 10 adult male subjects with sicke cell anemia was examined. Six subjects reported hemolytic crises and evenly separated into short and long period-to-period episodes. Upon comparison all threshold responses of subjects with 1-6-month recurrence rates were consistently poorer than those experiencing 12-36-month cycles. Because there seems to be more fluctuation with more frequent crises, sensorineural deficits in the high frequencies and high short increment sensitivity index (SISI) scores may quite possibly be related to cochlear thrombosis in microcirculations. Further experimentation should first identify those tests and testing patterns most sensitive to the suspected "crises" connected hearing impairment.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003638:Deafness / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010507:Periodicity; D013060:Speech