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Hearing Thresholds and Cochlear Integrity in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Case-Control Study | ||
| Al- Anbar Medical Journal | ||
| Volume 22, Issue 1, January 2026, Pages 34-40 PDF (342.18 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original articles | ||
| DOI: 10.33091/amj.2025.163126.2349 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Nawres Thamer Mohammed* 1; Ehab T. Yaseen2; Mohamed Abduljalil Al Tamimi3 | ||
| 1Audiology Clinic, College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq. | ||
| 2Unit of Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq. | ||
| 3Unit of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the common causes of disability in young adults. Despite the increasing prevalence and growing burden of MS, aspects such as auditory pathway involvement remain under-researched. Objectives: To evaluate the most common auditory complaints among patients with MS, determine the most frequently affected pure tone audiometric frequencies, and assess the integrity of the peripheral auditory pathway using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE). Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted involving 60 MS patients and 60 age- and sex matched healthy controls. All participants underwent neurological examination, ear, nose, and throat examination, tympanometry, pure tone audiometry (PTA), auditory brainstem response (ABR), and transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) testing. Results: The most common auditory symptoms among MS patients included hyperacusis (65%), speech discrimination difficulties (53.3%), tinnitus (48.3%), and hearing loss (35%). MS patients had elevated PTA thresholds (P-value < 0.05) at all frequencies except 250, 1000, and 2000 Hz, with notable influence from sex, but not from disease duration or treatment type, significantly prolonged wave III, wave V, and interpeak latencies in MS ears compared to controls (P-value < 0.05), and significant differences in TEOAE signal-to-noise ratio between study groups at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz frequencies (P-values of 0.016, 0.0001, 0.0001 respectively). Conclusion: Hyperacusis, speech discrimination difficulties, tinnitus, and hearing loss appear to be among the most frequently reported auditory complaints in MS patients. The disease tends to affect all audiometric frequencies, with a particular predilection for high and low frequencies. The peripheral auditory pathway appears to be subtly affected, particularly at the high frequencies, highlighting the need for routine audiological testing in this population. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Cochlear Integrity; Hearing Threshold; Multiple Sclerosis; Pure tone audiometry; Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions | ||
| References | ||
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