Auditory System Involvement in Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disorder associated with many other chronic and progressive diseases. There are few studies on the association of psoriasis with alterations in auditory function. A clinical and instrumental pilot study of auditory function was performed with 77 psoriatic patients and 77 age-and sex-matched healthy controls. The main results were: (i) hearing loss, mostly of sensorineural type, was significantly more frequent in patients than in controls; (ii) conductive and mixed hearing loss were more frequent in arthropathic than in non-arthropathic psoriatic patients; (iii) duration of psoriasis > 10 years or smoking were associated with higher frequency of hearing loss; (iv) psoriasis was more severe in patients with hearing loss than in those without hearing loss. Tympanogram abnormalities were found in patients more often than in controls. These data expand the list of extracutaneous conditions associated with psoriasis, and support the need for further basic and clinical research in this field.