Hearing disorders in aphasia]

Background: Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that often involves receptive language abilities. After clinical assessment it is often not clear if this is partially due to a hearing loss, which can be compensated by hearing aids facilitating the rehabilitative process. Material and Methods: In the present study the hearing ability of 88 male and female patients with aphasia after stroke, all of whom suffered from a left-hemispheric ischemia was assessed in the rehabilitative setting. Results: We found that a majority of patients (72, 82%) was able to perform pure tone audiometry. 15 aphasic patients (21%) showed a hearing loss and were not fitted with hearing aids. Conclusion: Patients with aphasia are due to their central speech disorders in their communication skills limited, so that the therapeutic success is further reduced by an existing hearing loss. Due to the demographic development of our people and with the age increasing prevalence of hearing impairment hearing screening in the post-acute phase in aphasic patients is justified by pure tone audiometry.