Identifying and Assessing Psychosis in Deaf Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

This article reviews recent research in the area of psychotic disorders in deaf psychiatric patients. Comparisons of the rates of psychotic disorders in the deaf and hearing populations suggest that psychotic disorders occur equally as often or even somewhat less often in the deaf population as in the hearing population. Consideration is given to the limitations of this small body of research, and recommendations for future research are provided. The contradictory literature on hallucinations in the deaf is also reviewed, and current theory about the manner in which hallucinations are manifested and experienced based on audiological history is presented. The challenges encountered by clinicians in accurately assessing symptoms of thought disorganization in deaf people are reviewed. Specifically, the etiology of deafness, language dysfluency, and the skill and training of American Sign Language interpreters are considered as factors impacting accurate diagnosis. Recommendations from the current literature are also provided.

Psykisk syke mangler rettssikkerhet

“…Kritisk gjennomgang av disse studiene har av slørt metodiske feilkilder (530). Senere studier estimerer lik, eller noe lavere, forekomst av psykose hos døve (531).…”

Psychiatric Care of Deaf Patients in the General Hospital: An Overview

“…However, depending on their age at hearing loss, and the nature and extent of the loss (i.e., progressive vs congenital), they are less likely than hearing patients to be able to describe certain features (such as pitch, loudness, or volume) but are usually still able to identify sex and language of the voice and the meaning of hallucinated speech. 40 In particular, changes in signing (particularly rapid signing or rapid thoughts conveyed through signs) are often assumed to be psychotic in origin rather than due to a major mood disorder.…”

Auditory Hallucination in Post Lingual Deaf Person: a Case Report

“…A significant psychosocial impact of acquired deafness has been stated in different studies [2][3][4]. Moreover, patients with deafness have a prevalence of psychosis more than the usual population ranging from 20% to 54% [5]. Among the psychotic features, auditory hallucination has significant importance in a person with hearing difficulties.…”

“…This also happens in postlingual deaf patients, as there is chance of deterioration in expressive language [9,10]. Early researchers suggest a wide range of heterogeneity in experiencing of auditory hallucination in deaf patients [5] which makes a perplexed situation for the clinicians to explore adequately. This report describes a person with experience of auditory hallucination after 16 years of deafness.…”