Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity as Indicator on the Etiology of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Objective: To ascertain brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) and their usefulness as an additional indicator of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) etiology and prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 89 adult patients with unilateral ISSNHL and 89 age-matched controls. Patients were classified into good- or poor-prognosis groups based on hearing recovery. All participants accepted the examinations of baPWV, ABI, and pure-tone audiometry testing. Other clinical variables were also collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the associations between arterial stiffness factors and pure-tone average; univariate logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors of prognosis. Results: ISSNHL patients showed significantly higher baPWV than controls ( P < .001). Elevated baPWV was associated with increased air-conduction (β = .244, P = .040) and bone-conduction threshold (β = .286, P = .014), and was also associated with poor prognosis ( P = .015). Conclusions: BaPWV was related to the incidence of ISSNHL and may serve as a useful indicator of disease severity. Its potential relevance to hearing outcomes requires further validation in larger prospective studies.