Arthritis of the middle ear in ankylosing spondylitis.

A case of ankylosing spondylitis with aortic valve disease and hearing loss is described. A series of radiographic and audiometric investigations showed the hearing loss to be of a conductive type. It seemed most likely that the hearing loss was related to an inflammatory involvement of the ossicular joints due to the primary disease. No other case of conductive hearing loss has previously been reported due to otoarthritis in ankylosing spondylitis. This is important both theoretically and practically.