Spectral Resolution and Speech Comprehension Performance in Noise in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background:Although multiple sclerosis is a chronic, autoimmune neurological disease of unknown etiology, the effects of the disease on the central auditory system are still a subject of research.Aim:Our study aimed to examine the performance of individuals with multiple sclerosis in speech understanding in noise and spectral resolution ability.Methods:A comparison was made between 32 individuals with multiple sclerosis (37.25±9.25 years) and 31 healthy individuals (34.96±8.42 years) in terms of the spectral resolution ability measured using the spectral-temporally modulated ripple test and speech comprehension performance in noise evaluated using the Turkish version of the matrix sentence test.Results:There was no significant difference between the spectral resolution abilities of the two groups. However, speech comprehension performance in noise was significantly poorer in individuals with multiple sclerosis.Conclusion:Multiple sclerosis affects speech comprehension performance in noise, which is one of the central auditory system functions. In the auditory system evaluation of multiple sclerosis patients, performing peripheral and central auditory system evaluations together will yield more realistic results on communication problems that individuals may encounter daily.