J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1995; 7:82-89
Copyright © 1995 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Hearing loss and asymmetry in major depression
Y Yovell, HA Sackeim, DG Epstein, J Prudic, DP Devanand, MC McElhiney, JM Settembrino and GE Bruder
Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, USA.
To assess patterns of hearing loss and asymmetry in major depressive
disorder (MDD), pure-tone and brief-click audiometric thresholds were
measured in 59 inpatients with MDD and 40 normal control subjects. For both
tasks, patients had higher bilateral thresholds, with marked hearing loss
for the highest pure-tone frequency. At lower frequencies, patients
displayed significant asymmetry, with poorer hearing in the left ear. After
ECT, patients maintained the bilateral hearing losses; however, the
baseline asymmetry resolved. These findings suggest that bilateral hearing
loss may be a stable characteristic in severe depression. Poorer left ear
pure-tone hearing may be present during the depressed state. The baseline
asymmetry in audiometric deficits suggests right-hemisphere dysfunction in
severe MDD.
