Objective: This study was aimed to survey the hearing status of the patients with definite MS. The results of this study may help to confirm the diagnosis and to improve our knowledge of different aspects of this disease and to optimize the treatment and rehabilitative techniques.
Material & Methods: This study is performed in audiology clinic of rehabilitation science faculty of Iran medical science university as an assesive-analytic procedure in winter of 2000 in 40 MS patients (Referred from the MS clinic of Shohada Hospital) of 20 to 45 years old. All the patients have no history of otologic problems. The results of conventional audiologist tests (PTA, SRT, SDS, imittance audiometry) and ABR findings of MS patients were compared to the results of control group.
Results: The differences between the means of low, high and mid frequency PTAve in MS patients and control group were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between two groups in the speech test&aposs results, statistically. The results of ART test show statistically significant differences between experimental and control groups. The only differences in ABR results were seen for the absolute latency of the wave V and IPLs (I-V, III-V) between two groups. The amplitude ratio of V/I in MS patients 1.5 was within the normal range (0.5 to 2). There was a statistically significant relationship between mean of mid frequency PTAve and prolongation of absolute latency of the wave V. The relationship between ABR and SDS and also between ART and ABR were not statistically significant. Finally, the results of this study suggested that low, high and mid frequency PTAve, ART, absolute latency of the wave V, and IPLs III-V, I-V can be used ascomplementory method to confirm the diagnosis of MS with other conventional methods such as: MRI, CSF analysis, SEP and VEP.