Assessment of hearing threshold levels in patients receiving İVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment

Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the changes in hearing threshold levels of 60 patients having in vitro fertilisation treatment with the changes in their blood estrogen and progesterone hormone levels; at the beginning, middle, and end of treatment. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients who were decided to undergo in vitro fertilisation treatment were included in this study and their hearing threshold levels were measured at the Atatürk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology. Otoscopic examinations of the patients were made separately for the right ear and left ear before testing for each patient in the Otorhinolaryngology Polyclinic. Patients with normal otoscopic examinations were included in the study. Estrogen and progesterone levels were assessed concurrently with the hearing assessments performed on the patient. Patients were evaluated by pure tone audiometry, tympanogram and otoacoustic emission measurements (TEOAE) at the beginning, middle, and end of in vitro fertilisation treatment. Results: In the audiological evaluation of 60 patients with in vitro fertilisation treatment and elevated blood estrogen levels, significant differences were found in both right and left ear hearing levels at 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz frequencies (p <0,05). We also found that the best hearing for audiometric airway measurements was in the group of patients with the highest estrogen levels and at the 2000 Hz frequency in the left ear. The negative effect of the progesterone level on the pure sound threshold was evident in the right ear and in the left ear; especially in the high frequency (4000 Hz). The effect of estrogen on the right ear and the effect of progesterone on the left ear were significant (p <0.05) in the tympanometry measurements. Despite the increased estrogen levels due to in vitro fertilisation treatment; in TEOAE (Otoacoustic Emission) measurements, no significant change in hearing threshold was observed in all measured frequency intensity. In TEOAE, there was a tendency in increasing hearing threshold in the right ear at 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz frequencies, and in the left ear at the 2 kHz and 4 kHz frequencies; independent of estrogen and progesterone levels. At the end of the study, due to progesterone, a significant difference was detected in the right ear at 4 kHz. Conclusion: We think that the hearing level of 60 patients whose blood estrogen and progesterone levels were elevated, is affected positively by estrogen and negatively by progesterone. Keywords: In Vitro Fertilisation, Audiogram, Tympanogram, TEOAE