Eye colour linked to deafness after meningitis

Research pointer: Light eye colour linked to deafness after meningitis

People with light eyes are more prone to deafness after meningitis than those with dark eyes, according to a research pointer* in this week's BMJ. Could these findings help us understand why some survivors of meningitis experience hearing loss whereas others fully recover?

Helen Cullington, an audiological scientist at Southampton University, classified eye colour in 130 deaf patients into "dark" (pure brown eyes, and all other shades of brown) and "light" (blue, green, grey and hazel eyes). Of 32 patients who were deafened by meningitis, only two (6%) had dark eyes, with 30 (94%) having light eyes. When compared to a sample UK adult population, these results showed that people with light eyes were 5.8 times as likely to be deafened by meningitis than those with dark eyes.

A higher melanin content protecting the inner ear from damage caused by meningitis could explain these findings, proposes the author. Alternatively, perhaps people with light eyes are more vulnerable to meningitis or those with dark eyes are more likely to die from meningitis, thus distorting the data for eye colour in the survivors and giving misleading results.

Further research may suggest a genetic basis; some kind of link between the genes determining eye colour and the inflammatory response to infection, she concludes.

*New to this week’s BMJ are research pointers: fascinating observations that don’t have a direct clinical or public health message, but make exciting science.

Contact:

Helen Cullington, Audiological Scientist, Hearing and Balance Centre, Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, UK Email: hec@isvr.soton.ac.uk