Hearing and balance functions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease, characterized by multiple organ involvement, which is seen more often in young females. Objectives To evaluate the hearing and balance functions in SLE patients. Materials and methods Twenty-four SLE patients, 24 healthy controls underwent pure tone audiometry (0.125-16 kHz), VNG, vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), and video head impulse test (vHIT). Results A statistically significant difference was determined between the control group and the SLE group at 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10, 12, 14, and 16 kHz frequencies. Sensorineural hearing loss was observed in 37.5% of the SLE group. The pursuit test was pathological at the rate of 25% in the SLE group. No response was obtained in six SLE patients in the oVEMP test and four SLE patients in the cVEMP test. The mean posterior SCC VOR gain values were 0.64 +/- 0.2 in the SLE group. A significant difference was determined between the groups with respect to posterior SCC VOR gains. Conclusions and significance Our findings show that SLE disease may negatively affect the hearing system and the vestibular system as well. The current study is the first study to comprehensively evaluate SLE patients with VNG, VEMP, and vHIT tests.