title: Hearing loss in pregnancy.
abstract: To study hearing loss in healthy pregnant women. Tertiary care hospital. Prospective study. We screened fifty healthy, non-complicated pregnant women (study group) in the third trimester for hearing loss who had no previous history for the same. Fifty healthy, non-pregnant women (control group) were also screened for hearing loss with a normal pure tone audiogram (PTA) for evidence of hearing loss. Thirteen women in the study group had evidence of hearing loss, in the form of absence of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), though the PTA was within normal limits. In the control group, two women had evidence of hearing loss, in the form of absence of DPOAE with normal PTA. This study proves that pregnancy exacerbates hearing loss, if the patient has any risk factors for the same.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, PES Institute of Medical Science and Research, Kuppam, 517425 AP India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ashok Murthy
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, PES Institute of Medical Science and Research, Kuppam, 517425 AP India.
authors.forename: Kirtan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krishna
keywords: Distortion product otoacoustic emission; Hearing loss; Pregnancy; Pure tone audiometry