evaluation and comparison of auditory processing problems in temporal lobe epileptic patients and normal subjects with persian staggered spondaic word test

background and aim: electrical discharges in temporal lobe epilepsy can cause disorders in auditory pathways. staggered spondaic word test ( ssw) is one of the most common behavioral tests to evaluate the central auditory nervous system. this study aimed to evaluate and compare auditory processing problems in temporal lobe epileptic patients and normal subjects with persian ssw test. methods: this cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 25 patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy aged 18-46 years and 25 controls aged 18-42 years using ssw test. corrected spondaic word test (c-ssw) was compared between groups. results: significant differences were found in the mean scores of right non-competitive, left non-competitive, right competitive, left competitive, right ear, and left ear between groups (p<0.05) and there was poor direct relationship between duration of epilepsy and the total score (r=0.38, p=0.04). there were significant correlations between temporal lobe epilepsy and ear effect, order effect, and reversals (p<0.05). conclusion: this study revealed a high prevalence of central auditory processing disorders in patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy that is increased with increasing duration of disorder of temporal lobe epilepsy.