Dichotic listening processing in patients with multiple sclerosis

Dichotic listening disorders occur secondary to interhemispheric transfer dysfunction. Central processing tests such as staggered spondaic words (SSW) and dichotic digits test (DDT) are recommended for the evaluation of dichotic listening in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study aimed to evaluate dichotic listening in subjects with MS by SSW and DDT. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 45 patients with MS, including 20 males (mean ± SD age: 35.95 ± 5.73 y) and 25 females (mean ± SD age: 37.40 ± 6.1 y) and their data were collected by the Persian version of SSW (P-SSW) and DDT. The results compared to 45 normal subjects age- and gender-matched as the control group. In patients with MS, P-SSW quantitative and qualitative errors (except for Sm2 and reversals), errors were significantly more than the control group (p ≤ 0.001). Right and left ear scores in DDT for the patients with MS were significantly lower, and right ear advantage was significantly higher than that in the control group (p ≤ 0.001). The results also showed a significant correlation between the test of P-SSW and DDT in the left ear. The present study showed that patients with MS have lower performance in dichotic listening and binaural processing than normal peers. Identification of binaural processing deficit in patients with MS may lead to early rehabilitation and improving their function by facilitating auditory processing.