[The status of psychogenic hearing disorder today]

The general symptoms of psychogenic hearing disorders are pointed out and exemplified by 16 own cases seen by the author in 1987 to 1988. Psychogenic hearing disorders imitate various constellations of findings and histories of genuine organic hearing disorders. The individual's experience and the contemporary consciousness of hearing disorders seem to enter into the individual manifestation. The 16 cases can clearly be divided into 3 groups of equal size: 1. The unilateral acute hearing loss, imitating either an acute traumatic damage or an idiopathic sudden hearing loss. This was seen almost exclusively in children. 2. The bilateral chronic hearing loss. This, too, was seen mainly in children and youths. 3. The acute bilateral recurring or progressing hearing disorder. This was seen predominantly in adults, mimicking dramatic courses ending up in bilateral profound deafness. In part of the cases the psychological background of the neurotic reaction could be explored quite easily. Knowledge of the various manifestations of psychogenic hearing disorders is important, because otherwise, as the reported cases demonstrate, misleading interpretation of findings entails costly diagnostic procedures (computerized tomography, arteriography) and expensive therapeutic measures (hospitalization, fitting of hearing aids).