Personality and functional hearing loss in children.

Thirty children with functional hearing loss were seen for psychological assessment. The sample included twice as many girls as boys. Most had experienced middle-ear problems and scored outside normal limits on the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory. Introversion alone or combined with neuroticism was the most important personality dimension, especially for girls. The relationship between introverted behaviour, hearing impairment and previous experience of hearing problems is discussed.