Effect of Transient Ischemic Attack on Hearing Thresholds of Older Subjects

The effects of transient ischemic attack (TIA) on pure tone average of low frequencies (PTA-low), of middle frequencies (PTA-mid), and of high frequencies (PTA-high), and audiometric configurations, which were classified by cluster analysis, were analyzed in older subjects. TIA showed significant positive association with PTA-high [β coefficient (β) ± standard error (SE) = 8.63 ± 2.81, p = 0.002] after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. Besides, multinomial logistic regression for audiogram patterns showed that the moderate 8-kHz dip pattern (β ± SE = 1.70 ± 0.78, p = 0.029) was significantly more prevalent in the TIA group after adjusting for age, sex, and mean hearing level at all frequencies. We concluded that TIA without an obvious infarct lesion could contribute to hearing degeneration in older subjects, especially in high frequencies.