The use of subjective and objective audiologic test procedures in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

The necessity of using a test battery approach in the diagnosis of the MS patient is described. The objective and subjective audiologic test procedures complement each other by implicating different CNS sites influenced by the demyelinating process. Since two or more central lesions must be demonstrated to confirm a diagnosis of MS, different audiometric test procedures, sensitive to dysfunction at various CNS levels, are vital. The multi-sensory evoked-response procedures have been particularly helpful in revealing subclinical abnormalities. Researchers do advocate, however, inclusion of other neuro-otologic test procedures, such as detailed auditory and vestibular testing, interaural time discrimination, and localization testing as part of the diagnostician's test battery.