OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical diagnosis of auditory neuropathy by retrospective review of the articles published in Chinese Journals in the past 10 years.

METHODSThe key word of "auditory neuropathy" was used to search all of the articles published in Chinese Journals by the Chinese Bio-medicine Literature Data Base and Chinese Journal Net from 1995 to 2004. The selected subjects of auditory function examination, diagnosis standards were analyzed, respectively.

RESULTSForty-two articles were collected, and 23 articles were clinical researches and case reports. There were 573 patients (1146 ears) in all series, and 480 ears (42%) were accords with the standards of diagnosis of auditory neuropathy. Others were accompanied by cochlea, brain stem and peripheral nerve disorders.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical manifestation and hearing examination on auditory neuropathy in Chinese journal literatures is inconsistent with the diagnosis standards, moreover, it is necessary to further explore the pathological location and unify the diagnosis standards of auditory neuropathy.