title: [Nonorganic (functional) hearing loss in children].
abstract: Nonorganic (functional) hearing loss in children is characterized by hearing loss without a detectable corresponding pathology in the auditory system. It is not an uncommon disease in childhood. Typically, there is a discrepancy between elevated pure tone thresholds and normal speech discrimination in everyday life. We evaluated 85 original publications, 27 reviews and 4 textbook articles. Mean age at diagnosis was 11.3 years. Girls were affected twice as often as boys. Patient histories showed a high prevalence of emotional and school problems. Pre-existing organic hearing loss can be worsened by nonorganic causes. A brainstem audiometry should confirm the diagnosis. The differential diagnosis includes auditory processing disorder, elevated thresholds in mental retardation and auditory neuropathy. We recommend taking a personal history including biographical factors, a psychological assessment including intelligence testing and referral to a child psychiatrist. Prognosis seems to be dependent on the severity of the patient's school and/or personal problems. Categorization following the Austen-Lynch model can be a valuable prognostic factor.
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie, Münster, Deutschland. michael.schmidt@uni-muenster.de
authors.forename: C-M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Am Zehnhoff-Dinnesen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deuster
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006315:Hearing Loss, Functional / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006320:Hearing Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors