Have you ever been in the middle of the road and your car breaks down? That really stinks! Your car has to be safely pulled off the road. And then, for whatever reason, you probably pop your hood and take a look at your engine.
What’s strange is that you do this even though you have no idea how engines work. Perhaps whatever is wrong will be totally obvious. Inevitably, a tow truck will need to be called.
And a picture of the problem only becomes obvious when experts diagnose it. That’s because cars are complicated, there are so many moving parts and computerized software that the symptoms (a car that won’t move) aren’t enough to tell you what’s wrong.
The same thing can happen at times with hearing loss. The cause is not always apparent by the symptoms. There’s the normal culprit (noise-related hearing loss), sure. But in some cases, it’s something else, something like auditory neuropathy.
Auditory neuropathy, what is it?
Most individuals think of extremely loud noise like a rock concert or a jet engine when they consider hearing loss. This kind of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss is somewhat more complex than that, but you get the idea.
But in some cases, this type of long-term, noise related damage isn’t the cause of hearing loss. A condition called auditory neuropathy, while less common, can in some cases be the cause. When sound can’t, for whatever reason, be effectively sent to your brain even though your ear is collecting that sound perfectly fine.
Symptoms of auditory neuropathy
The symptoms of conventional noise related hearing loss can sometimes look a lot like those of auditory neuropathy. Things like cranking up the volume on your devices and not being capable of hearing well in loud environments. That’s why diagnosing auditory neuropathy can be so difficult.
Auditory neuropathy, however, has some distinctive symptoms that make diagnosing it easier. When hearing loss symptoms manifest like this, you can be pretty certain that it’s not normal noise related hearing loss. Though, naturally, you’ll be better informed by an official diagnosis from us.
Here are a few of the more unique symptoms of auditory neuropathy:
- Sounds seem jumbled or confused: This is, once again, not a problem with volume. The volume of what you’re hearing is just fine, the issue is that the sounds seem jumbled and you can’t make sense of them. This can go beyond the spoken word and apply to all types of sounds around you.
- Trouble understanding speech: Sometimes, the volume of a word is normal, but you just can’t understand what’s being said. The words sound garbled or distorted.
- Sound fades in and out: The volume of sound seems to go up and down like somebody is messing with the volume knob. If you’re encountering these symptoms it may be a case of auditory neuropathy.
Some causes of auditory neuropathy
These symptoms can be articulated, in part, by the underlying causes behind this particular disorder. It may not be entirely clear why you have developed auditory neuropathy on a personal level. This disorder can develop in both adults and children. And there are a couple of well described possible causes, generally speaking:
- Damage to the nerves: There’s a nerve that carries sound signals from your inner ear to the hearing center of your brain. If this nerve gets damaged, your brain can’t receive the full signal, and consequently, the sounds it “interprets” will seem off. When this happens, you might interpret sounds as jumbled, indecipherable, or too quiet to discern.
- The cilia that transmit signals to the brain can be damaged: If these tiny hairs in your inner ear become damaged in a specific way, the sound your ear senses can’t really be passed on to your brain, at least, not in its full form.
Risk factors of auditory neuropathy
No one is really certain why some individuals will develop auditory neuropathy while others might not. That’s why there isn’t an exact science to preventing it. But you might be at a higher risk of experiencing auditory neuropathy if you show certain close connections.
It should be mentioned that these risk factors aren’t guarantees, you may have every single one of these risk factors and not develop auditory neuropathy. But the more risk factors present, the higher your statistical probability of developing this disorder.
Risk factors for children
Here are some risk factors that will increase the likelihood of auditory neuropathy in children:
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- Preterm or premature birth
- Liver conditions that lead to jaundice (a yellow look to the skin)
- A lack of oxygen before labor begins or during birth
- Other neurological disorders
- A low birth weight
Risk factors for adults
For adults, risk factors that raise your likelihood of experiencing auditory neuropathy include:
- Mumps and other specific infectious diseases
- Family history of hearing disorders, including auditory neuropathy
- Various kinds of immune diseases
- Overuse of medications that cause hearing problems
Limiting the risks as much as possible is always a smart plan. Scheduling regular screenings with us is a good plan, especially if you do have risk factors.
Diagnosing auditory neuropathy
A normal hearing exam consists of listening to tones with a pair of headphones and raising a hand depending on which side you hear the tone on. When you have auditory neuropathy, that test will be of extremely minimal use.
Rather, we will typically suggest one of two tests:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: This diagnostic is designed to determine how well your inner ear and cochlea respond to sound stimuli. We will put a small microphone just inside your ear canal. Then, we will play a series of tones and clicks. The diagnostic device will then evaluate how well your inner ear responds to those tones and clicks. The data will help identify whether the inner ear is the problem.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: Specialized electrodes will be connected to specific spots on your head and scalp with this test. This test isn’t painful or unpleasant in any way so don’t worry. These electrodes track your brainwaves, with specific attention to how those brainwaves respond to sound. The quality of your brainwave responses will help us determine whether your hearing issues reside in your outer ear (as with sensorineural hearing loss) or further in (such as auditory neuropathy).
Once we do the appropriate tests, we will be able to more effectively diagnose and treat your auditory neuropathy.
Does auditory neuropathy have any treatments?
So, in the same way as you bring your car to the auto technician to get it fixed, you can bring your ears to us for treatment! Generally speaking, there’s no “cure” for auditory neuropathy. But this condition can be managed in a few possible ways.
- Hearing aids: In some milder cases, hearing aids will be able to provide the necessary sound amplification to help you hear better, even if you have auditory neuropathy. Hearing aids will be a sufficient option for some people. But because volume isn’t usually the problem, this isn’t typically the situation. Hearing aids are often used in combination with other treatments because of this.
- Cochlear implant: For some people, hearing aids will not be able to get around the issues. It might be necessary to go with cochlear implants in these situations. This implant, basically, takes the signals from your inner ear and conveys them directly to your brain. They’re quite amazing! (And you can find many YouTube videos of them working for patients.)
- Frequency modulation: Sometimes, it’s possible to hear better by boosting or lowering specific frequencies. That’s what happens with a technology known as frequency modulation. This strategy often uses devices that are, essentially, highly customized hearing aids.
- Communication skills training: Communication skills exercises can be put together with any combination of these treatments if necessary. This will let you work with whatever level of hearing you have to communicate better.
It’s best to get treatment as soon as you can
Getting your disorder treated promptly will, as with any hearing disorder, lead to better outcomes.
So if you suspect you have auditory neuropathy, or even just regular old hearing loss, it’s essential to get treatment as soon as you can. You’ll be able to get back to hearing better and enjoying your life after you make an appointment and get treated. Children, who experience a lot of cognitive growth and development, especially need to have their hearing treated as soon as possible.