Auditory perceptual problems in non-organic hearing disorder.

A series of 22 patients who presented with non-organic hearing disorder were examined for auditory perceptual problems. A test battery that examined eight areas of auditory perception revealed significant auditory perceptual problems in each of the 22 patients. The results indicate a view that differs from the traditional view of non-organic hearing disorder as either conscious feigning of a hearing disorder or an unconscious symptom of an unidentified emotional disorder. The information presented here indicates that specific auditory processing disorders could adversely affect patients' hearing and that auditory perceptual disorders could be diagnosed and treated.