Hearing Loss and MS

Hearing loss is an uncommon symptom of MS. About 6 percent of people who have MS complain of impaired hearing; hearing loss may take place during an acute exacerbation.

• In very rare cases, hearing loss has been reported as the first symptom of the disease.
• Deafness due to MS is exceedingly rare, and most acute episodes of hearing deficit caused by MS tend to improve.

Hearing loss is usually associated with other symptoms that suggest damage to the brainstem — the part of the nervous system that contains the nerves that help to control vision, hearing, balance and equilibrium.
Hearing deficits caused by MS are thought to be due to inflammation and/or scarring around the eighth cranial nerve (the auditory nerve) as it enters the brainstem, although plaques (abnormal areas that develop on nerves whose myelin has been destroyed) at other sites along the auditory pathways could also contribute to hearing problems.

Because hearing deficits are so uncommon in MS, people with MS who do develop hearing loss should have their hearing thoroughly evaluated to rule out other causes.

Finding an audiologist or speech-language therapist:

The American Academy of Audiology provides an online search tool to locate audiologists who are members of the Academy. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides an online search tool to locate certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists.
American Academy of Audiology
11480 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 220 Reston, VA 20191
Phone: 800-222-2336, website or email
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
2200 Research Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850-3289
Phone: 800-638-8255, website