CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF EXTENDED HIGH-FREQUENCY THRESHOLDS, AUDITORY FIGURE-GROUND DISCRIMINATION, AND WORKING MEMORY IN FEMALES WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS)

Introduction Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects up to 10% of reproductive-age women, yet its impact on auditory function remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare auditory and cognitive functions between PCOS patients and age-matched controls. Material and methods Participants were 60 normal-hearing individuals aged 20–25 years, evenly split into two groups: Group 1 (control) consisted of unmarried females with regular menstrual cycles, and Group 2 (clinical group) comprised unmarried females diagnosed with PCOS. Auditory assessment involved extended high-frequency audiometry and speech perception in noise (SPIN) tests. Auditory working memory was evaluated through digit span and digit sequencing tasks. Results Results showed significantly poorer extended high-frequency audiometry thresholds and SPIN scores in the PCOS group compared to controls. Additionally, PCOS participants performed significantly worse on the digit span task, indicating poorer auditory working memory. Conclusions Extended high-frequency audiometry and reduced auditory figure-ground discrimination at low signal-to-noise ratios could potentially serve as early indicators of cochlear abnormalities at the basal end of the cochlea. Future research is needed to investigate the interplay of hormonal milieu and central processing in PCOS.