[Aphasia: causes, age distribution and hearing function].

Among 1138 aphasic patients we found that in 86% of the cases, aphasia was caused by a cerebro-vascular disease. The maximum rate of the disease occurred in patients between 70 and 79 years of age. In a random test that included 100 adult patients afflicted with aphasia (average age 64 years), 41 patients (= 41%) showed a sensory-neural hearing impairment in the tonal audiogram. Among these 41 cases, 7 patients were afflicted with a none-sided sensory-neural hearing impairment. 8 patients had already used a hearing aid prior to the onset of aphasia, or received a hearing aid after the onset of aphasiy, respectively. An additional undetected impairment of hearing function should always be considered in differential diagnosis in patients suffering from aphasia. This is of special significance in sensorial aphasis (Wernicke Aphasias). Otologists and speech therapists should regard the increasing occurrence of sensory-neural hearing impairments as an indication to pay attention to the diagnosis of hearing function and to the proper adjustment of hearing aids in this group of patients which is becoming increasingly important.