title: Hearing loss in adult women with Turner's syndrome and other congenital hypogonadisms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define the patterns and causes of hearing decline associated to Turner's syndrome (TS).
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational study with three cohorts was designed: 31 TS patients, 15 women with other congenital hypogonadims (OCH) and 41 healthy age-matched women taking contraception. Microotoscopy, standard pure-tone audiometry brain auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) were performed to study hearing function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Up to 87% of TS subjects suffered from some degree of hearing loss (HL) in the audiograms, compared with 20% OCH and 27% controls. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was the most frequent type of hypoacusia found in TS group. BAEP study demonstrated that 61% of TS women showed HL compared to 20% in OCH patients. No significant differences in latencies, amplitudes, and interpeaks of waves I, III and V were found between TS and OCH, nor when compared to reference population. Worse results were observed among the oldest TS patients, those with pure monosomy or isochromosome, and those with a history of recurrent otitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More than a half of TS females presented HL. SNHL is the most frequent pattern among middle-aged women with TS. Old age, karyotype and recurrent otitis are predisposition factors to produce HL, while oestrogens play a minor role.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Endocrinological Gynaecology, Department of Gynaecology, ICGON .
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ros
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tercero
authors.forename: Isam
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alobid
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balasch
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.forename: Joaquim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mullol
authors.forename: Camil
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castelo-Branco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000150:complications* / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology