Nonorganic Hearing Loss in Children – a 2-Year Study

Abstract

Nonorganic hearing loss or pseudohypacusis is a condition in which there is an apparent hearing loss without any evidence of an organic cause. In a 2-year period, 43 children were seen in our department with this diagnosis. Thirty-three of them were female and 10 were male. Their hearing loss varied from 30 dB HL to 100 dB HL. The diagnosis made on clinical impression was confirmed using the ascending and the descending mode pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, stapedial reflexes and speech audiometry. Explanation, encouragement and reassurance were the only treatment required in these patients. All the 43 patients showed normal pure tone thresholds within a period of 1 year.

Diagnostic tools in pseudohypacusis in children

“…Both the child and their parents should be reassured strongly that the hearing loss will get better. When the correct diagnosis of pseudohypacusis is made, the treatment is relatively simple with reassurance, explanation and encouragement [23,24].…”

Non-organic hearing loss redefined: understanding, categorizing and managing non-organic behaviour

“…Some authors imply that a pragmatic approach consisting of attempts to obtain improved audiometric responses, followed by explanations and reassurance, will usually suffice to 'cure' the non-organicity without need for deeper analysis, e.g. Andaz et al (1995) in their study with children. The problem therefore disappears with the emergence of a normal audiogram, and there is no risk of labelling and consolidating the problem, a danger pointed out by Veniar & Salston (1983).…”