Evaluation of Hearing Loss in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of hearing loss in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to ana- lyze whether the rates of hearing loss were different from the control group or not. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 AS patients and 34 healthy controls were enrolled into the study. Physical examinations and disease activity score measurements were performed in patients with AS. Results: The mean age was 32.20 years (18-55) in AS patients and 35.58 (20-50) in the control group. The mean disease dura- tion was 5.27 years (0-22) in patients with AS. Hearing loss was detected in seven (14%) of the AS patients and three (8.8%) of the control patients. In terms of hearing loss, a statistically significant difference was not found between the two groups. Senso - rineural hearing loss was the most commonly detected type of hearing loss in the two groups. Hearing loss was present in two (28.5%) of the seven AS patients in whom the duration of disease was more than 10 years. There was no statistically significant correlation between the duration of disease and hearing loss. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between the AS and control groups with respect to hearing loss. The rate of hearing loss increased in line with the duration of disease.