Muteness

Dumbness (Latin mutitas dumbness; mutus silent) is a physically or cognitively -related condition in which a creature can not articulate with sounds or by means of the spoken language, although it should be possible usually in the way. In humans, the term refers to the inability to speak in the first place.

Dumbness has, depending on the cause, different ICD-10 codes:

ICD -10 R47 dysphasia and aphasia, not elsewhere classified, and
ICD -10 F44.4 Dissociative motor disorders (among which are also counted psychogenic speech disorders )

The elective mutism (also: Selective mutism, the psychologically induced silence) has its own ICD -10 cipher, namely ' ICD -10 F94.0 '.

Other forms of mutism are listed in the ICD -10 classification under the respective physical or psychological causes.

Symptoms and complaints

Dumbness is to the inability to talk or to articulate spoken language.

Causes

Muteness can be divided into several types:

Congenital dumbness (eg caused by a genetic defect)
Muteness as a result of psychological influences (eg mutism or mutism due to autism)
Mutism due to physiological factors such damage (eg cracks ) or absence of the vocal cords or the entire larynx (eg amputation after cancer of the larynx ), the neurologically -induced aphasia

Sometimes it is also called hearing mutism ( Audimutitas ) and sound-dumbness. Hearing mutism means that the patient can hear, but can not articulate spoken language, that is, can not speak. With sound-dumbness is meant that the mute patient sounds in the appropriate areas of the brain can not combine properly to words, or the meaning of what is heard does not understand.

Diagnosis and differential diagnosis

Muteness itself is relatively easy to diagnose. The mute patient does not speak, and does not respond to questions. In order to delineate the history is used, that is, members and relatives are interviewed. In addition, the patient will possibly neurological and ENT medical examination to determine the cause of dumbness.

Dumbness is distinguished from other pathologies that this may be similar at first glance, namely, for example:

Hearing impairment or deafness ( " deaf-mutism "); this episode muteness occurs frequently, but is trainable.
Selective mutism
Social phobia with refusal to speak
Severe autism ( infantile autism )
Severe mental retardation
Apraxia

The good social behavior, the intact ear, the normal intelligence, which generally adequate mood and the absence of delusions and shyness differentiate the dumbness of the other above-mentioned disorders.

Consequences and complications

Muteness affected job opportunities and social contacts significantly. Dumbness is extremely uncomfortable for the patient, because he can defend himself, for example, limited to teasing himself. It can lead to discrimination, social isolation and loneliness.

Quotes and Sayings

In a figurative sense, " remain silent " even as much as to say: silent ...
The phrases: " be silent like a fish " and " silent as the grave "
" The safest dumbness is not silence, but to talk. " - Kierkegaard (quoted in " The Myth of Sisyphus " by Camus p. 38)

History

On the history and exclusion of the dumb ( and deaf ) see deaf-mutism and history of the deaf.