Assessment of auditory functions in chronic hepatitis C patients treated by sofosbuvir

OBJECTIVE: Evaluating the auditory function in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with sofosbuvir and ribavirin. METHODS: This study involved 80 patients with chronic hepatitis C who agreed to receive sofosbuvir and ribavirin. All participants were subjected to baseline otological and audiological assessment just before treatment. The audiological assessment included standard pure tone audiometry, extended high-frequency audiometry, immitancemetry and otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) (transient and distortion product). According to baseline hearing threshold measurements, the study population was divided into 2 groups. Group 1 included 42 patients with normal hearing sensitivity (250–8000 Hz), and Group 2 included 38 patients with sensorineural hearing loss. After 24 weeks of therapy, otological and audiological assessments were repeated and compared between the two groups and before and after therapy. RESULTS: Post-treatment hearing threshold evaluation showed no significant difference from pretreatment evaluation at all tested frequencies. There was no statistically significant difference between pre and post-treatment otoacoustic emissions results. CONCLUSION: Therapy with sofosbuvir and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C has no noticeable effects on cochlear functions.