ObjectivesToevaluateperipheralauditorydysfunctioninseniledementiaofAlzheimer'sdisease(AD)anditsrelationshipwithcognitivedysfunction.MethodsPuretonethresholds,wordrecognitionscores(WRS),acousticimmittanceandauditorybrain-stemresponses(ABR)weretestedtoevaluatetheauditoryfunctionin43ADpatientsand50normalsubjects.ThetestreliabilityinthesesubjectswasexaminedbeforethetestresultswereevaluatedfortheircorrelationwiththeMiniMentalStateExamination(MMSE)score.ResultsTherewerenostatisticallysignificantdifferencesinperipheralauditoryfunctionsbetweenthetwoearsinthetestedsubjectsorbetweenthetwogroupswhentheauditometricresultsoftherightearwerecompared(P>0.05).Also,therewerenostatisticallysignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwogroupswhenaudiometrictestreliability,acousticimpedanceandABRresultswerecompared(P>0.05).ConclutionsThepuretoneaudiometricthresholdandWRSinADpatientsaresimilartothoseincomparablenon-ADsenilesubjects.Peripheralauditorydysfunctionisnotrelatedtocognitivedysfunction.
