Does Pregnancy Have an Influence on Otosclerosis?

Objectives: Otosclerosis affects women twice as often as men, especially during fertile age. A role of female hormones has been claimed but controversy still exists regarding the influence of pregnancy. The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of pregnancy on the course of otosclerosis. Design: In May 2019, on PubMed were searched the terms otosclerosis AND pregnancy, otosclerosis AND pregnant, otosclerosis AND parous, otosclerosis AND parity, and otosclerosis AND puerperium. Age at diagnosis, number of pregnancies, and the temporal relationship of the disease with childbearing were considered. Results: For 65 articles, 11 were chosen for review. They described 2323 women affected by otosclerosis: 1805 had at least 1 pregnancy, while 518 did not. During childbearing, otosclerosis began in 1% of pregnant women, worsening in 21%, and worsening during puerperium in 4%. Often, the authors reported hearing change with pregnancy, without details, so a further group has been considered composed of women belonging to any of the groups just mentioned or to another group of women not further characterized. Overall, hearing change occurred during pregnancy in 44%. A statistically significant correlation emerged between hearing change and number of pregnancies (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Due to wide data heterogeneity and the difficulty in analyzing a single factor, absolute statements couldnt be formulated. According to this review, pregnancy seems to have a worsening effect on the course of otosclerosis.