Clinical features of functional hearing loss with inattention problem in Japanese children

Functional hearing loss is a condition in which hearing is lost without actual pathology. In children, inattention during pure tone audiometry may be due in part to functional hearing loss. This study examined the issue of inattention as a psychological trait by analyzing the clinical features of functional hearing loss children in Japan.

Using the ADHD-Rating Scale IV, 97 functional hearing loss children were screened for inattention (27 boys, 70 girls; mean age 9 years 5 months, range 5-17 years). Those with high levels of inattention (Inattention group) were compared with others (Attention group) for clinical features statistically. Furthermore observed psychological clinical features were described.

36.1% were categorized in the Inattention group, which had more boys, lower in age, and had more physical, developmental, and environmental problems than the Attention group. Two groups had very different psychological feature.

In children's functional hearing loss, there exists a group with psychological trait of inattention. Three younger children 5-6 years old with attention problems showed no psychological problems, their FHL was considered to be caused by generalized maturation and development. Nearly all of the rest children showed psychological problems, supporting the notion that FHL in children is psychogenic in nature. Because clinical features in Inattention group children were different from the Attention group significantly, it was concluded that distinguishing the Inattention group as a subtype of functional hearing loss in children would be effective for both diagnosis and treatment. Larger scale studies with many angles needed for the inattention problem in FHL children.