The author studied the hearing and premorbid personality of 79 patients
whose illnesses began before they were 60 years old. Hearing was assessed
by pure-tone audiometry and premorbid personality by interviewing
relatives. Thirty-two patients had paranoid states, 32 matched patients had
recurrent unipolar depression, and 15 patients had schizophrenia. Three
paranoid patients and two depressed patients met DSM-III criteria for
premorbid paranoid personality. There was no consistent difference in
hearing loss between paranoid and depressed patients or between paranoid
patients and a population control group. The author concludes that
premorbid paranoid personality and hearing loss are not associated with
paranoid states in middle age.Abstract Teaser