Evaluation of middle ear joints with audiometric study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic disease of unknown etiology, manifested primarily by inflammatory arthritis of peripheral joints. In middle ear, incudomalleal and incudostapedial joints may be affected. In this paper we researched middle ear joints with pure-tone audiometry, impedance audiometry and some vocal, supraliminary audiometry tests in rheumatoid arthritis patients. As a conclusion, in this study, middle ear joints of the patients with RA may effect as subclinical, but significant differences were not found between patient and control groups.

Keywords

• rheumatoid arthritis
• audiometry
• middle ear joints.