Auditory Agnosia

Synonyms

Auditory-sound agnosia; Auditory-verbal agnosia; Pure word deafness

Definition

Rare condition in which sounds, although heard, are not properly interpreted and thus have little or no meaning for the patient.

Current Knowledge

When present, auditory agnosia is usually primarily limited to impaired recognition of either language sounds or nonlanguage (environmental) sounds. The former is known as auditory-verbal agnosia or pure word deafness. No commonly used term is applied to the latter. In either condition, appreciation of certain aspects of musical sounds might also be compromised (amusia). For this syndrome to be diagnosed, other higher-order deficits that might more readily explain the deficit (such as aphasic disorder) should be ruled out. In auditory-verbal agnosia, there is impairment of one’s ability to process, interpret, or comprehend speech sounds or spoken language. Patients may report that it is like hearing someone speaking in a foreign language. Reading,...