Auditory Brainstem Response In Normal Menstruating Women

Although women have ABR shorter than men, studies with ovarian hormones on auditory brainstem response (ABR) have conflicting reports when it is recorded at different phases of menstrual cycle (MC) in women. This study compared ABR between pre- and postovulatory phases of MC in healthy female volunteers. The ABR wave latencies (WLs) I, II, III, IV, V and inter-peak latencies (IPLs) I-III, III-V, I-V were compared between two phases of MC. The postovulatory had shorter WL V, IPL III-V and I-V than in preovulatory phase. Other WLs and IPLs showed decreasing trend in postovulatory phase. ABR is better in postovulatory as compared to preovulatory probably due to progesterone hormone which might be involved in modulating hearing pathway. This book thus provides the information that phases of menstrual cycle affects the hearing pathway due to variation in ovarian hormones. Many women are taking oral contraceptive pills, hormone replacement therapy, so it is the matter of concern to assess hearing properly in these women, as fluctuating ovarian hormone during MC affects hearing than obviously pills consisting estrogen, progesterone or thier combined treatment might affect hearing too.