Objectives Several studies have delineated the relationship between hearing disturbances and the prevalence or characteristics of psychotic symptoms; however, most of those studies focused on psychiatric patients and not general inpatients. Delirium has a high incidence among general inpatients, and patients with delirium are easily affected by psychotic symptoms that lead to irritable behaviors. This study examined the relationship between hearing disturbance and psychotic symptoms among patients with delirium. Methods At the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, this study examined 27 inpatients who had both delirium and hearing disturbances between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018, and 146 inpatients at the Asan Medical Center who had delirium but no hearing disturbances between July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. This study investigated whether the two groups showed differences in the prevalence and characteristics of delirium symptoms, particularly psychotic symptoms. In addition, the correlation between clinical characteristics of delirium and the recommended dosage of antipsychotics was analyzed in patients who had been diagnosed with delirium and had hearing disturbances. Results Compared to inpatients who only had delirium, those who had both delirium and hearing disturbances had a significantly higher prevalence of hallucination and delusion. Conclusion The prevalence of psychotic symptoms, such as hallucination and delusion, was higher in patients who had both delirium and hearing disturbances, which is in line with the results from previous studies on psychiatric patients. Physicians should focus on improving communication with such patients by employing non-verbal communication methods.
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