THE EAR IN THE ACQUIRED-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-SYNDROME .2. CLINICAL AND AUDIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

Patients with acquired immunodeficiency syn drome (AIDS) were investig ated to determine the sites, nature, and severity of any otologic abno rmalities. Tinnitus, ''muffled'' or ''echoing'' hearing, and vertigo w ere frequent complaints. Eight percent of the 155 patients studied sho wed evidence of chronic otitis media, usually with effusion. Mostly mi ld, but occasionally severe sensorineural hearing loss was found in ma ny, affecting more severely the higher and lower frequencies than the middle range. Almost all patients showed diminished otoacoustic emissi ons, suggesting cochlear dysfunction resulting from infection or ototo xicity as the basis for the hearing loss. Impairment of the otoacousti c emissions by a subclinical otitis media with effusion cannot, howeve r, be excluded. On the basis of this study it is suggested that the pr ovision of otologic care to patients with AIDS may enhance their quali ty of life and, by the early detection and treatment of severe otitis media, may even prolong life.