The principal symptom of subjects suffering from King-Kopetzky syndrome is a 
perceived difficulty in recognizing and understanding speech in noisy 
backgrounds. For some patients, minor disturbances in auditory function, e.g. a 
deteriorated signal-to-noise ratio for speech, can be demonstrated; for others, 
all measurements of hearing are normal. A conceptual framework developed for the 
analysis of communication disorders is applied to King-Kopetzky syndrome in the 
present article. The usefulness of the framework is evaluated, and an extended 
system for the analysis of King-Kopetzky syndrome patients is suggested. It is 
emphasized that changes in demands resulting from external conditions and 
altered perception and evaluation of the conditions may generate the symptoms. A 
change in the subjects' desired self-image (preferendum) and a change in social 
role, new, unfamiliar vocabulary, as well as minor dysfunctions in peripheral 
and central auditory processing, might generate the characteristic features of 
the syndrome. The framework is related to the current literature, and arguments 
for the usefulness of the framework in the planning of support and 
rehabilitation are presented. Several new questions are generated for further 
analysis of King-Kopetzky syndrome.