Originally Posted by C-NICE

Functional Hearing Loss
Functional hearing loss involves a psychological or emotional problem, rather than physical damage to the hearing pathway. Individuals with this type of hearing loss do not seem to hear or respond; yet, in reality, they have normal hearing.

The most important challenge for physicians is to classify this condition properly. It may be difficult to determine the specific emotional cause, but if the classification is made accurately, the proper therapy can begin.

Too often, a functional hearing loss is not recognized, and individuals receive useless treatments for prolonged periods. In turn, this process may aggravate the emotional element and cause the condition to become more resistant to treatment.