If you have a partner with neglected hearing loss, you know that getting their attention can be… a struggle. First, you try to say their name. You say “Greg”, but you get no response because you used an indoor volume level. You try saying Greg’s name a bit louder and still no reply. So finally, you shout.
Well this time Greg hears you and grouchily asks what you’re shouting for.
This situation isn’t the result of stubbornness or impatience. Individuals with hearing loss frequently report hypersensitivity to loud sound. And this sensitivity to loud noises can help explain why Greg doesn’t hear his name at a normal volume but gets cranky when you shout at him.
Can loud sounds seem louder with hearing loss?
Hearing loss can be a strange thing. The vast majority of time, you’ll hear less and less, especially if your hearing loss remains untreated. But things can get really loud when you’re out at a packed restaurant or watching a Michael Bay movie. So loud that it can become uncomfortable. Maybe it’s someone shouting to get your attention or one of the explosions in the newest Transformers movie, it just gets really loud really fast.
And you’ll think: Why am I so sensitive to loud noise?
Which can, truthfully, put you in an irritable mood. Many individuals will feel like they’re going mad when they notice this. They have a hard time determining how loud things are. Imagine, all of your family, friends, and acquaintances seem to validate you’re losing your hearing, but you have this sudden sensitivity to loud sound. It feels like a contradiction.
Auditory recruitment
A condition known as auditory recruitment can trigger these symptoms. Here’s how it works:
- The interior of your ears are covered in tiny hairs known as stereocilia. When soundwaves enter your ears, these hairs vibrate and your brain translates that signal into sounds.
- Deterioration of these hairs is what produces age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Over time, these fragile hairs are permanently damaged by repeated exposure to loud sounds. Your hearing becomes more muffled as a result. Your degree of hearing loss will be increasingly worse the more hairs that are compromised.
- But this is not an evenly occurring process. There is always some combination of damaged hairs and healthy hairs.
- So when you hear a loud noise, the damaged hairs “recruit” the healthy hairs (thus the name of the condition) to send an alarmed message to your brain. Suddenly, all of the stereocilia fire, and everything gets very loud.
Think about it like this: everything is silent except for the Michael Bay explosion. So the Michael Bay explosion is going to seem louder (and more obnoxious) than it otherwise would!
Isn’t that exactly like hyperacusis?
You might think that these symptoms sound a little familiar. That’s likely because they’re typically confused with a condition known as hyperacusis. When you first compare them, this confusion is easy to understand. Auditory recruitment is a condition in which you have a sensitivity to loud noises, and hyperacusis is a condition where sounds very suddenly get loud.
But there are some key differences:
- While hyperacusis has no connection to hearing loss, there is a direct connection between auditory recruitment and hearing loss.
- When you’re dealing with hyperacusis, noises that are at an objectively normal volume seem extremely loud to you. Think about it this way: A shout will still sound like a shout with auditory recruitment; but a whisper could sound like a shout with hyperacusis.
- 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 quite different conditions.
Can auditory recruitment be managed?
There isn’t any cure for hearing loss and that’s the bad news. Once your hearing goes, it’s gone. Treatment of hearing loss can largely prevent this.
This also applies to auditory recruitment. But the good news is that auditory recruitment can be treated successfully. Usually, hearing aids are at the center of that treatment. And there’s a particular calibration for those hearing aids. That’s why treating auditory recruitment will nearly always require making an appointment with us.
We’ll be able to identify the particular wavelengths of sound that are responsible for your auditory recruitment symptoms. Then your hearing aids will be dialed in to lower the volume of those frequencies. It’s sort of like magic, only it’s using science and technology (so, not really like magic at all, but it works really effectively is what we’re trying to communicate here).
Only certain types of hearing aid will be effective. Over-the-counter hearing aids or sound amplifiers, for instance, do not have the necessary technological sophistication and built-in sensitivity, so they won’t be able to deal with your symptoms.
Schedule an appointment with us
If you are noticing sensitivity to loud sounds, it’s important to realize that you can find relief. The bonus is that your new hearing aid will make everything sound clearer.
But scheduling an appointment is the first step. Lots of people who have hearing loss deal with hypersensitivity to loud sound.
You can get help so call us.