title: Arsenic related hearing loss in miners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that carries number of potential risks to human health, although there is little evidence of the ototoxic effect of arsenic. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between arsenic exposure and hearing loss by measuring blood arsenic concentrations and hearing among miners.
  
  
  METHODS
  This research is a retrospective case control study. Included in the study were miners employed in a single silver mine whose blood arsenic concentrations were high. A comparison was made on the pure tone audiometry measurements taken from miners exposed only to arsenic (Group 1), those exposed to both arsenic and noise (Group 2) and a control group exposed to neither arsenic nor noise (Group 3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that for both ears at all frequencies, the hearing level of Group 3 was better than the hearing levels of both Group 1 and Group 2. There was no correlation between the blood arsenic levels and hearing levels in both ears.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has revealed the ototoxic effects of arsenic. As blood arsenic concentrations do not reflect long-term exposure, no correlation was identified between blood arsenic concentrations and hearing levels. Further studies will be needed to clarify the mechanisms involved in the effect of arsenic on hearing. This paper represents the largest study to date focusing on the isolated effects of arsenic on hearing through the use of a clinical auditory test.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Yenimahalle Education and Research Hospital, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: gulingokcenmd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gülin Gökçen
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Kesici
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey. Electronic address: drilhan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: İlhan
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Ünlü
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Mengücek Gazi Education and Research Hospital, Erzincan, Turkey. Electronic address: arzutopcu80@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Arzu Baştürk
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Topçu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: ceylandemirbal@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ceylan Demir
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bal
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: dretutkun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tutkun
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: oyilmaz@ybu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Ömer Hınç
authors.initials: ÖH
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067572:Miners; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic