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Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the nervous system. It has prevalence of about two million people around the world. It can damage all the motor, sensory system including auditory system. Since depending to the region of the involvement, central auditory nervous system can also be affected audiological evaluations have a brilliant role in Differential Diagnosis of the disease.  Different audiological patterns is suspected in MS. We will discuss them in the current article. 

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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.

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Background and Aim: Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) is a new vestibular function test that assesses the vestibulospinal pathway.
Although many studies have investigated different inner ear pathologies by using VEMP, the role of this test in brainstem pathologies and demyelinating processes of central nervous system is still remained to be defined and discussed.
The aim of this study was to compare VEMP in multiple sclerosis patients and normal individuals.
Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study in 21 patients (15 female, 6 male) fulfilling diagnostic criteria of clinically definite multiple sclerosis, and 20 normal individuals (15 female, 6 male). ages ranging from 17 to 50 years old.
The VEMPs was recorded using 500 Hz short tone burst (STB). The p13 and n23 latencies and p13-n23 peak-to-peak amplitude were the studied parameters.
Results: VEMP results were abnormal in 47.6% of patients. P13 latency and p13-n23 peak to peak amplitude in both ears showed significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). P13 latency was delayed in 14 ears (of nine patients). VEMPs were unilaterally absent in two patients.
Conclusion: VEMPs thus represent a new method of the brainstem in multiple sclerosis disease. VEMP abnormalities in these patients might be due to impairment in vestibulocollic pathway.

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Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disorder that involves central nervous system. Studies have showed that multiple sclerosis affects behavioral central auditory tests, such as masking release or masking level difference (MLD). The purpose of this study is to compare the masking level difference between multiple sclerosis patients and normal subjects.
Methods: This cross sectional and non-interventional study was conducted on 32 multiple sclerosis patients aged between 20-50 years and 32 controls matched for age and gender in Faculty of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. masking level difference test was performed on each subject.
Results: The mean masking level difference in the two groups was significantly different (p<0.01) however, gender did not prove to play a role in this difference.
Conclusion: As part of the multiple sclerosis diagnosis panel, masking level difference test is an efficient modality for evaluation of hearing impairment and monitoring of rehabilitation progress.

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Background and Aim: The temporal processing is one of the critical features in central auditory processing system the gap in noise (GIN) test is the appropriate clinical tool for appraisal of temporal resolution which in people with multiple sclerosis may encounter with complications. Consequently, the aim of this study was to compare the results of gap in noise test in 18 to 40-year-old patients with multiple sclerosis and normal participants.
Methods: This cross-sectional non-invasive cohort study was conducted on 20 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (mean age: 28.9 years) and 26 healthy normal hearing participant (mean age: 27.7 years) in the age range 18 to 40 years. The approximate threshold and percent of corrected responses were obtained and then were analyzed using Student&aposs t-test.
Results: There was an increase in gap detection and decrease in percent of corrected responses in gap in noise test within multiple sclerosis patients in comparison with normal people (p<0.0001). Moreover, there were a correlation of 78% between increasing disease duration and approximate threshold and also a correlation of 82% between increasing disease duration and corrected responses (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it seems that people with multiple sclerosis suffer from some degree of disorder in the temporal resolution which might be due to involvement of central nerve system and, somehow, deficit in central auditory processing. Therefore, for evaluating the temporal resolution in people with multiple sclerosis, gap in noise test could be useful.

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Bachground and Aim: The involvement of central auditory nervous system is relatively prevalent in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). To understand cortex function and to investigate cognitive impairment, event related potential is considered as a valuable tool. This study was aimed to compare the amplitude and latency of the event related potentials of P300 in MS patients and normal individuals.
Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 21 MS patients and 27 normal cases aged 18-50 years. Auditory P300 was recorded with oddball paradigm, using two tone burst stimuli (1000 and 2000).
Results: In MS patients, mean latencies were significantly longer (p<0.001) and mean amplitude were significantly lower (p<0.001), in both males and females. Sex did not affect P300 latencies and amplitudes significantly.
Conclusion: MS patients show some degree of event related potential abnormalities. Combination of auditory P300 and neuropsychological tests may be useful to investigate cognitive impairment in MS patients.

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Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized with inflammation, demyelization and gliosis. It may be relapsing, remitting, or progressive. Cognitive impairment is relatively prevalent in patients wit h multiple sclerosis and as duration of disease is longer as cognition impairment is more. To understand the cognitive impairment, event related potential can be considered as a valuable tool. This study aimed to investigate the influence of duration of disease and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) on the amplitude and latency of the event related potentials of P300 in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: In this cross-sectional and non-intervention study, 21 patients with multiple sclerosis with mean age of 27.8 with SD 7.1 years (between 18 to 50 years) were enrolled. The patients were selected randomly. The correlation of P300 event-related potential and oddball paradigm was assessed, using two 1000 and 2000 Hz tone burst stimulus.

Results: There was a significant correlation between the latency of P300 wave and duration of disease and expanded disability status scale (p < 0.05) there was high correlation in both electrode sites (r>0.50). The correlation of amplitude of P300 and duration of disease and expanded disability status scale was not significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Significant correlation between the latency of P300 and the duration of multiple sclerosis and expanded disability status scale can be a sign of central nervous system changes. Besides, there is a relation between physical disability and cognitive impairments.

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Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the central nervous system diseases can be associated with a variety of symptoms such as hearing disorders. The main consequence of hearing loss is poor speech perception, and temporal acuity has important role in speech perception. We evaluated the speech perception in silent and in the presence of noise and temporal acuity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: Eighteen adults with multiple sclerosis with the mean age of 37.28 years and 18 age- and sex- matched controls with the mean age of 38.00 years participated in this study. Temporal acuity and speech perception were evaluated by random gap detection test (GDT) and word recognition score (WRS) in three different signal to noise ratios.

Results: Statistical analysis of test results revealed significant differences between the two groups (p<0.05). Analysis of gap detection test (in 4 sensation levels) and word recognition score in both groups showed significant differences (p<0.001).

Conclusion: According to this survey, the ability of patients with multiple sclerosis to process temporal features of stimulus was impaired. It seems that, this impairment is important factor to decrease word recognition score and speech perception.