Have you ever had your vehicle break down in the middle of the highway? It’s not an enjoyable situation. Your car has to be safely pulled off the road. Then you likely pop your hood and have a look at the engine. Who knows why?
What’s strange is that you do this even if you have no clue how engines work. Perhaps you think there’ll be a convenient handle you can turn or something. Ultimately, you have to call somebody to tow your car to a garage.
And it’s only when the experts check out things that you get a picture of the problem. That’s because cars are complicated, there are so many moving pieces and computerized software that the symptoms (your car that won’t move) aren’t enough to inform you as to what’s wrong.
The same thing can occur sometimes with hearing loss. The cause isn’t always evident by the symptoms. Sure, noise-related hearing loss is the typical cause. But sometimes, it’s something else, something such as auditory neuropathy.
Auditory neuropathy, what is it?
Most individuals think of extremely loud noise like a rock concert or a jet engine when they think of hearing loss. This type of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss is somewhat more complex than that, but you get the idea.
But in some cases, long-term hearing loss can be caused by something else besides noise damage. A condition called auditory neuropathy, while less common, can in some cases be the cause. This is a hearing condition where your ear and inner ear receive sounds just fine, but for some reason, can’t fully transfer those sounds to your brain.
Auditory neuropathy symptoms
The symptoms related to auditory neuropathy are, at first look, not all that dissimilar from those symptoms linked to conventional hearing loss. Things like turning up the volume on your devices and not being able to hear well in loud settings. This can sometimes make auditory neuropathy hard to diagnose and treat.
However, auditory neuropathy does have some unique properties that make it possible to identify. These presentations are rather solid indicators that you aren’t dealing with sensorineural hearing loss, but with auditory neuropathy instead. Though, naturally, you’ll be better served by an official diagnosis from us.
The more distinctive symptoms of auditory neuropathy include:
- Sounds seem jumbled or confused: Again, this isn’t an issue with volume. The volume of what you’re hearing is completely normal, the issue is that the sounds seem jumbled and you can’t understand them. This can apply to all kinds of sounds, not just speech.
- Sound fades in and out: Maybe it feels like someone is messing with the volume knob in your head! If you’re dealing with these symptoms it could be a case of auditory neuropathy.
- The inability to distinguish words: Sometimes, you can’t make out what someone is saying even though the volume is just fine. Words are confused and unclear.
What triggers auditory neuropathy?
The underlying causes of this disorder can, in part, be explained by the symptoms. On an individual level, the reasons why you might develop auditory neuropathy might not be completely clear. Both adults and children can experience this disorder. And, generally speaking, there are a couple of well described possible causes:
- Nerve damage: There’s a nerve that transmits sound signals from your inner ear to the hearing center of your brain. The sounds that the brain attempts to “interpret” will sound unclear if there is damage to this nerve. When this happens, you may interpret sounds as garbled, unclear, or too quiet to discern.
- Damage to the cilia that transmit signals to the brain: Sound can’t be sent to your brain in complete form once these little fragile hairs have been compromised in a specific way.
Risk factors of auditory neuropathy
Some people will develop auditory neuropathy while others won’t and no one is really sure why. Because of this, there isn’t a definitive way to counter auditory neuropathy. However, there are close connections which might show that you’re at a higher risk of developing this condition.
It should be mentioned that these risk factors aren’t guarantees, you might have every single one of these risk factors and still not develop auditory neuropathy. But the more risk factors shown, the higher your statistical likelihood of experiencing this disorder.
Children’s risk factors
Here are a few risk factors that will increase the likelihood of auditory neuropathy in children:
- A lack of oxygen before labor begins or during birth
- A low birth weight
- Other neurological disorders
- Preterm or premature birth
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- Liver disorders that lead to jaundice (a yellow appearance to the skin)
Adult risk factors
Here are a few auditory neuropathy risk factors for adults:
- Family history of hearing conditions, including auditory neuropathy
- Mumps and other distinct infectious diseases
- Overuse of medications that cause hearing issues
- Various types of immune disorders
In general, it’s a good idea to limit these risks as much as you can. If risk factors are present, it might be a good plan to schedule regular screenings with us.
Diagnosing auditory neuropathy
A standard hearing test consists of listening to tones with a set of headphones and raising a hand depending on what side you hear the tone on. That test won’t help very much with auditory neuropathy.
One of the following two tests will normally be done instead:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: The reaction of your inner ear and cochlea to stimuli will be evaluated with this diagnostic. We will put a little microphone just inside your ear canal. Then, we will play a series of clicks and tones. Then your inner ear will be assessed to see how it responds. The data will help identify whether the inner ear is the problem.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: During the course of this diagnostic test, you’ll have specialized electrodes attached to specific places on your scalp and head. Again, don’t be concerned, there’s nothing painful or unpleasant about this test. These electrodes put particular emphasis on tracking how your brainwaves react to sound stimuli. Whether you’re experiencing sensorineural hearing loss (outer ear) or auditory neuropathy (inner ear) will be established by the quality of your brainwaves.
Once we run the appropriate tests, we will be able to more successfully diagnose and treat your auditory neuropathy.
Is there treatment for auditory neuropathy?
So you can bring your ears to us for treatment in the same way that you take your car to the mechanic to have it fixed. auditory neuropathy generally has no cure. But there are a few ways to treat this disorder.
- Hearing aids: Even with auditory neuropathy, in milder cases, hearing aids can amplify sound enough to allow you to hear better. Hearing aids will be an adequate option for some people. Having said that, this isn’t generally the case, because, once again, volume is almost never the issue. Due to this, hearing aids are often coupled with other therapy and treatment options.
- Cochlear implant: Hearing aids won’t be able to solve the problem for most people. It might be necessary to go with cochlear implants in these situations. This implant, basically, takes the signals from your inner ear and carries them directly to your brain. The internet has lots of videos of individuals having success with these amazing devices!
- Frequency modulation: In some cases, amplification or reduction of specific frequencies can help you hear better. That’s what happens with a technology called frequency modulation. This strategy often utilizes devices that are, essentially, highly customized hearing aids.
- Communication skills training: In some situations, any and all of these treatments might be combined with communication skills training. This will allow you to work with whatever level of hearing you have to communicate better.
It’s best to get treatment as soon as you can
Getting your condition treated promptly will, as with any hearing disorder, lead to better outcomes.
So if you suspect you have auditory neuropathy, or even just normal hearing loss, it’s important to get treatment as soon as you can. The sooner you schedule an appointment, the more quickly you’ll be able to hear better, and get back to your everyday life! Children, who experience a great deal of cognitive growth and development, particularly need to have their hearing treated as soon as possible.
