Audiologic Manifestations of Patients with Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to characterize auditory function in patients diagnosed with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). DESIGNEighteen patients with PTLDS were evaluated and compared to a normal population. Evaluations consisted of pure tone and speech thresholds, word reco...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Ear and hearing 2003-12, Vol.24 (6), p.508-517
Hauptverfasser: Shotland, Lawrence I, Mastrioanni, Mary Ann, Choo, Daniel L, Szymko-Bennett, Yvonne M, Dally, Leonard G, Pikus, Anita T, Sledjeski, Kathryn, Marques, Adriana
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to characterize auditory function in patients diagnosed with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). DESIGNEighteen patients with PTLDS were evaluated and compared to a normal population. Evaluations consisted of pure tone and speech thresholds, word recognition (WRS), acoustic immittance battery, auditory brain stem response (ABR), and loudness discomfort level (LDL). Both seropositive and seronegative patients were evaluated. Audiologists were blinded to patient status. RESULTSForty four percent of the patients had one or more abnormal pure tone thresholds compared to gender- and age-adjusted norms. Thirty-one percent showed abnormally reduced LDLs, and 17% had abnormal acoustic reflexes at one or more frequencies. CONCLUSIONSThis paper catalogs previously unstudied long-term auditory system sequelae resulting from PTLDS. Our most significant finding was the dramatically reduced loudness tolerance in the presence of either normal or minimally impaired hearing. The clinician is encouraged to consider PTLDS when confronted with these or similar findings in patients having history of Borrelia burgdorferi infection and continued complaints.
ISSN:0196-0202
1538-4667
DOI:10.1097/01.AUD.0000100205.25774.5F