Clinical significance of auditive involvement in rheumatoid arthritis: a case-control study

Introduction. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can involve the incudomalleolar or incudostapedial articulations. Objective. To know the punctual prevalence of audiological alterations in patients with RA. Patients and Methods. RA patients and their controls (Cs), were evaluated by Tonal Audiometry (AU); if there were alterations in the air conduction (AC), bone conduction (BC), Logoaudiometry (LG), and Tympanometry (T) were performed. Results. 45 RA patients and 45 Cs were evaluated. RA patients had 40% of bilateral and 17.8% unilateral alteration versus Cs with 22.2% bilateral and 4.4% unilateral alteration versus Cs with 22.2% bilateral and 4.4% unilateral in AC audiometry. In conventional T (CT) As-type curves in patients with RA, there were 22 LE (48.8%) and 26 RE (57.7%) versus Cs, there were16 RE (35.5%) and 20 LE (44.4%). In High-frequency T (HFT): the 3B1G pattern in RA more frequent versus Controls (Cs) in RE (P = .002 and LE (P = .01). There were no differences according to RA activity or RA disease evolution. Conclusions. There is a greater tendency of auditive loss of As curves in CT (rigidity in ossicular chain) and of the 3B1G pattern in HFT in RA.