GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF DEAFNESS

Abstract

PRESENT clinical methods used in the differential diagnosis of organic from psychogenic deafness have proved adequate in the majority of cases. However, equivocal and unreliable responses are met with, particularly in psychotic or retarded patients or those with a "compensation fixation." Methods of testing suspect cases of deafness are included in all standard textbooks. Priest¹has outlined a satisfactory procedure for the uniform testing of patients with unilateral deafness. He has advocated the use of shadow curve audiograms, the Well's modification of the Stenger test, the Lombard reading test, the Marx test and several auxiliary aids. The need for clearcut differentiation in the diagnosis and separation of organic from psychogenic deafness is apparent. Since positive results are not always possible with present established tests, the following objective method of testing was utilized. This method is applicable only to those professing or manifesting total unilateral or binaural deafness. The galvanic skin