Peripheral auditory assessment in minor head injury: a prospective study in tertiary hospital

Hearing loss is a common problem encountered in ENT practice. Hearing loss following head injury is a major medical problem in both adults and children, which may go unnoticed when it does not affect speech frequencies. Sensorineural hearing loss at high frequencies is a common finding in minor head injury. Patients with history suggestive of mild head injury (MHI) according to Glasgow coma scale score were evaluated. The most common cause of MHI was road traffic accidents involving two wheeler riders without helmets. Higher the frequencies affected, and severe the hearing loss, poorer was the prognosis. Distortion product oto-acoustic emissions assessment at 3000 and 4000 Hz were found to be significant and has a higher predictive value in assessing outer hair cell damage.