title: Meteorological conditions related to the onset of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of meteorological factors on the onset of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL).
  
  
  METHODS
  Meteorological data from 2005 to 2011 were obtained from the web-based "Monthly Weather Reports of the Meteorological Administration" database. Patients with ISSHL who visited our hospital during this same period and presented the precise day on which hearing loss developed were included in this retrospective study. Twelve meteorological factors were analyzed between the days when ISSHL onset was observed as well as the days when ISSHL did not occur. The weather conditions occurring 1-7 days before ISSHL onset were also analyzed to assess any possible delayed effects of meteorological factors on the onset of ISSHL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 607 patients were included for the study. Although mean and maximal wind velocities were higher for the days when ISSHL occurred than the days without ISSHL onset, after adjusting the value for multiple comparisons, we cannot find any significant relationship between any of meteorological factors and the onset of ISSHL. However, in analysis of time lag effect of the weather conditions, we found that there was still a significant difference in maximum wind speed on 5 days before ISSHL onset even after applying Bonferroni correction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The result of this study suggests that stronger wind speed may be related to the occurrence of ISSHL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. ejmercy@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eun-Ju
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Junhyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-Hong
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Yeo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014919:Wind
keywords: Sudden hearing loss; meteorological factor; wind speed