Vitiligo patients experiencing sensorineural hearing loss: A single-center experience in a tertiary care centre

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease distinguished by the gradual and progressive loss of melanocytes, resulting in loss of pigmentation of macules and patches over the skin. The disease's pathophysiology is complex, involving genetic predispositions, environmental triggers, and immune-mediated inflammation, which collectively result in the destruction of myelocytes by autoreactive CD8+ T cells. During the course of the disease, the occurrence of a sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is associated with a wide range of factors, including age, age of onset, gender, type and site of vitiligo, and disease duration. To study sensorineural hearing loss in vitiligo patients. This study was conducted in a tertiary care center over a period of one year. A total of 100 patients were included in the study after obtaining informed and written consent from each participant. The results of the audiometry tests were used to classify the patients into different categories of hearing loss based on the WHO classification system. The majority of cases with SNHL are observed in the 41-60 years age group, accounting for 66.7% of the total hearing loss cases. The younger age groups (1-20 years and 21-40 years) show significantly lower rates, 11.1% and 22.2% independently. More than 40 years of age at onset is linked with the development of disease, with male gender comprising 88.9% of the total cases, whereas in the females the numbers are as low as 11.1%. The remarkable risk factors include younger male age group, later onset of the disease, involvement of the head and neck region with prolonged duration of the disease. Preliminary screening and early detection of hearing loss in patients with vitiligo, its monitoring and active interventional planning is recommended for patients having the risk factors to expect the correct treatment and absolute reversal. All cases of vitiligo must be vigilantly screened for hearing loss for accurate and timely prevention as well as treatment.