Palinacousis leading to the diagnosis of temporal lobe seizures in a patient with schizophrenia

Abstract

Palinacousis is a rarely reported symptom of temporal lobe dysfunction. Especially in psychiatric patients it may be misdiagnosed if it is not differentiated from the auditory hallucinations of psychotic illness. We report the case of a 20-year-old patient with the previously established diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia who presented with the symptom of palinacousis. She was not psychotic at that time, her only complaints being recurrent auditory sensations. Repeated EEG recordings showed a left temporal theta focus with spikes. The diagnosis of temporal lobe seizures was made. Treatment with carbamazepine led to complete recovery. © 2002 BEA Trading Ltd. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.