If you have a partner with neglected hearing loss, you know that getting their attention can be… a struggle. Their name is the first thing you try saying. You say “Greg”, but you get no answer because you used an indoor volume level. You try saying Greg’s name a bit louder and still no reply. So finally, you shout.
And that’s when Greg spins around with absolutely no appreciation of his comedic timing and says crossly, “what are you shouting for?”
This situation isn’t the result of stubbornness or irritability. People with hearing loss often report hypersensitivity to loud sound. So it seems logical that Greg gets cranky when you shout his name after he continually fails to hear you when you speak to him at a normal volume.
Can hearing loss make loud sounds worse?
Hearing loss can be a peculiar thing. The majority of time, you’ll hear less and less, particularly if your hearing loss goes unaddressed. But every now and then, you’ll watch a Michael Bay movie, or be talking with someone, or be having dinner in a restaurant, and things will get really noisy. Uncomfortably loud. Maybe it’s somebody shouting to get your attention or one of the explosions in the newest Transformers movie, it just becomes really loud really fast.
And you’ll think: What’s causing this sensitivity to loud noise?
Which can, honestly, put you in a cranky mood. Many individuals will feel like they’re going crazy when they experience this. They have a difficult time determining how loud things are. Imagine, all of your family, friends, and acquaintances seem to confirm you’re losing your hearing, but you have this sudden sensitivity to loud sound. How can that be?
Auditory recruitment
A condition called auditory recruitment can cause these symptoms. Here’s how it works:
- The inside of your ears are covered in tiny hairs called stereocilia. When soundwaves enter your ears, these hairs resonate and your brain converts that signal into sounds.
- Damage to these hairs is what causes age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Loud sounds can degrade the hairs over time, and once they are injured, they never heal. Your hearing becomes duller as a result. Your level of hearing loss will be progressively more severe the more hairs that are compromised.
- But this isn’t an evenly occurring process. There is always some mixture of damaged and healthy hairs.
- So when you hear a loud sound, the impaired hairs “recruit” the healthy hairs (thus the name of the condition) to send an alarmed message to your brain. So, all of a sudden, everything is really loud because all of your stereocilia are firing (just like they would with any other loud noise).
Think about it this way: everything is quiet except for the Michael Bay explosion. So it will seem louder, when that Michael Bay explosion happens, than it normally would.
Sounds like hyperacusis
Those symptoms may sound a little familiar. There is a condition called hyperacusis that has similar symptoms and the two are frequently confused. When you first compare them, this confusion is understandable. Both conditions can make sounds really loud suddenly.
But here are some significant differences:
- While hyperacusis has no link to hearing loss, there is a direct connection between auditory recruitment and hearing loss.
- When you have hyperacusis, noises that are at an objectively ordinary volume seem extremely loud to you. Think about it this way: A shout will still sound like a shout with auditory recruitment; but when you have hyperacusis, a whisper might sound like a shout.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Most individuals who experience hyperacusis report feeling pain. With auditory recruitment, that’s typically not the case.
It’s true that hyperacusis and auditory recruitment have a few similar symptoms. But they are very different conditions.
Is there any treatment for audio recruitment?
There isn’t any cure for hearing loss and that’s the bad news. Once your hearing is gone, it’s gone. Treatment of hearing loss can prevent this, largely.
This also applies to auditory recruitment. But the good news is that auditory recruitment can successfully be treated. Typically, hearing aids are at the center of that treatment. And there’s a specific calibration for those hearing aids. So it will be necessary to make an appointment with us.
The precise frequencies of sound that are triggering your auditory recruitment will be identified. Then your hearing aids will be dialed in to reduce the volume of those wavelengths. It’s kind of like magic, but it’s using science and technology (so, not really like magic at all, but it works really effectively is what we’re trying to convey here).
Only specific types of hearing aid will be effective. The symptoms can’t be addressed with over-the-counter hearing devices because they lack the technological sophistication.
Contact us for an appointment
It’s essential that you know that you can find relief from your sensitivity to loud sound. The bonus is that your new hearing aid will make everything sound clearer.
But it all starts by scheduling an appointment. Lots of people who have hearing loss cope with hypersensitivity to loud sound.
You can get help so call us.
