Abstract
Adults and children exhibit nonorganic hearing loss (NOHL). In children, NOHL can
be due to several underlying factors. Issues of this kind if not treated on time may
become risky for the child’s well-being if the underlying cause of NOHL is psychosocial
and emotional. In most of the clinical settings attention is less drawn toward diagnosis
and management of the root cause of NOHL. In this present article, we present the
audiological profile of a 7-year-old girl with NOHL. The patient came to the department
with the compliant of difficulty in hearing. Immittance results showed no abnormalities;
however, reliable pure tone results could not be obtained. Subjective tests revealed
bilateral hearing loss and objective assessment indicated a normal hearing. On the
second visit, audiometric tests were repeated which showed normal hearing. After exclusion
of neurological pathology and psychological consultation, the diagnosis of NOHL was
stated and the girl was scheduled for regular appointments with a psychologist. In
addition, literature on the causative factors related to NOHL has also been discussed
in the present article.
Keywords
functional hearing loss - children - pure tone audiogram - auditory brainstem response
- otoacoustic emission
