Your Audiology Tutorial: Hyperacusis, Part I
This time out we'll discuss hyperacusis. It may be defined as:
1.) An abnormal acuteness of the sense of hearing. (Miller-Keane Medical Dictionary, 2000).
2.) An increased sensitivity to sound. (Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Center at University of Maryland).
3.) An abnormal sensitivity to everyday sound levels or noises, often sensitivity to higher pitched sounds, in the presence of essentially normal hearing.
One of the symptoms a patient suffering from hyperacusis can exhibit is a dislike of being exposed to a certain sound, sometimes because of the belief that it will damage the ear. This is known as misophonia. Certain complex sounds may produce discomfort on the basis of their meaning or association, but other sounds that are enjoyed can be tolerated at MUCH higher levels. Examples- normal environmental sounds such as traffic, kitchen sounds, doors closing, and loud speech.
Phonophobia, another potential symptom, is the overall fear of sound. This occurs when there is a STRONG dislike to sounds. Examples-The father of a teenage child who listens to ‘modern’ music being played (even in the distance), the dislike for music ‘leaking’ from the headphones of portable cassette players on public transport, or the squeak of chalk on a slate.
How is hyperacusis diagnosed? The protective mechanisms a normal ear employs to minimize the harmful effects of loud noise are malfunctioning, so noise may seem too loud even with hearing protection. There is SOME speculation that the efferent portion of the auditory nerve has been affected (efferent-fibers that originate in the brain that serve to regulate incoming sounds); this theory suggests that the efferent fibers of the auditory nerve are selectively damaged while the hair cells of the inner ear that allow us to hear pure tones in an audiometric evaluation remain intact.
Others feel hyperacusis is purely a central processing problem limited to how the brain perceives sound. Research is currently being conducted with the goal of finding more clues about the etiology, or causal origin, of hyperacusis.
In Part II, we'll discuss the coping strategies patients use and treatment procedures utlized by clinicians. We will also discuss the relationship between tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hyperacusis.
1.) An abnormal acuteness of the sense of hearing. (Miller-Keane Medical Dictionary, 2000).
2.) An increased sensitivity to sound. (Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Center at University of Maryland).
3.) An abnormal sensitivity to everyday sound levels or noises, often sensitivity to higher pitched sounds, in the presence of essentially normal hearing.
One of the symptoms a patient suffering from hyperacusis can exhibit is a dislike of being exposed to a certain sound, sometimes because of the belief that it will damage the ear. This is known as misophonia. Certain complex sounds may produce discomfort on the basis of their meaning or association, but other sounds that are enjoyed can be tolerated at MUCH higher levels. Examples- normal environmental sounds such as traffic, kitchen sounds, doors closing, and loud speech.
Phonophobia, another potential symptom, is the overall fear of sound. This occurs when there is a STRONG dislike to sounds. Examples-The father of a teenage child who listens to ‘modern’ music being played (even in the distance), the dislike for music ‘leaking’ from the headphones of portable cassette players on public transport, or the squeak of chalk on a slate.
How is hyperacusis diagnosed? The protective mechanisms a normal ear employs to minimize the harmful effects of loud noise are malfunctioning, so noise may seem too loud even with hearing protection. There is SOME speculation that the efferent portion of the auditory nerve has been affected (efferent-fibers that originate in the brain that serve to regulate incoming sounds); this theory suggests that the efferent fibers of the auditory nerve are selectively damaged while the hair cells of the inner ear that allow us to hear pure tones in an audiometric evaluation remain intact.
Others feel hyperacusis is purely a central processing problem limited to how the brain perceives sound. Research is currently being conducted with the goal of finding more clues about the etiology, or causal origin, of hyperacusis.
In Part II, we'll discuss the coping strategies patients use and treatment procedures utlized by clinicians. We will also discuss the relationship between tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hyperacusis.
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