Oral contraceptive pills and clinical otosclerosis.

Clinical otosclerosis is a familial disease which is more frequent among women in their reproductive years. The condition usuallly is aggravated by pregnancy. Endocrinologic variables may influence the time of onset and the course of the disease. It is suspected that oral contraceptives (OCs) might stimulate the onset of the disease. Six hundred nulliparous women between the ages of 16 and 30, who used a variety of OCs for 12-36 months, were examined. The hearing of these women was thoroughly investigated. The first audiometric examination of the 600 women revealed three cases (0.5%) of clinical otosclerosis. This incidence is equal to that of the population as a whole, but lower than the incidence found in previously parous women. Audiometric examinations were normal in the remaining 597 women, and repeated examinations revealed no new cases of clinical otosclerosis, despite continuous OC use.