You know that it can be a challenge to get your partner’s attention if they have neglected hearing loss. Their name is the first thing you try saying. You say “Greg”, but you get no answer because you used an inside volume level. You try saying Greg’s name a bit louder and still no reply. So you resort to shouting.
And that’s when Greg spins around with absolutely no appreciation of his comedic timing and says crossly, “why are you shouting?”
This situation isn’t due to stubbornness or impatience. People with hearing loss frequently report hypersensitivity to loud sound. So it makes sense that Greg gets aggravated when you shout his name after he repeatedly fails to hear you when you talk to him at a normal volume.
Can loud sounds seem louder with hearing loss?
Hearing loss can be a strange thing. Normally, hearing loss will cause your hearing to diminish, especially if it goes untreated. But every once in a while, you’ll watch a Michael Bay movie, or be talking with someone, or be eating in a restaurant, and things will get really noisy. So loud that it can become uncomfortable. Maybe the movie gets really loud all of a sudden or someone is yelling to get your attention.
And you’ll think: What’s causing this sensitivity to loud noise?
Which can, truthfully, put you in an irritable mood. Many people will feel like they’re going mad when they notice this. That’s because they can’t get a handle on how loud things are. Imagine, all of your friends, family, and acquaintances seem to validate you’re losing your hearing, but you have this sudden sensitivity to loud sound. How can that be?
Auditory recruitment
The cause of this sound sensitivity is a condition called auditory recruitment. Here’s how it works:
- The inside of your ears are covered in tiny hairs called stereocilia. When soundwaves enter into your ears, these hairs vibrate and your brain translates 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 are unable to heal. Your hearing becomes duller as a result. The more compromised hairs you have, the less you’re able to hear.
- But this process doesn’t happen evenly. There will be a combination of healthy and damaged hairs.
- So when you hear a loud sound, the impaired hairs “recruit” the healthy hairs (hence the name of the condition) to send an alarmed message to your brain. Suddenly, all of the stereocilia fire, and everything becomes really loud.
Think about it like this: That Michael Bay explosion is loud but everything else is quiet. So it’s going to seem louder, when that Michael Bay explosion happens, than it normally would.
Isn’t that the same as hyperacusis?
You might think that these symptoms sound a little familiar. There is a condition called hyperacusis that has comparable symptoms and the two are often confused. That conflation is, initially, reasonable. Both conditions can make sounds very loud all of a sudden.
But here are a few substantial differences:
- Hyperacusis isn’t directly caused by hearing loss. Auditory recruitment certainly is.
- Noises that are normal objectively will seem very loud for someone who has hyperacusis. Think about it this way: When you have auditory recruitment, a shout sounds like a shout; but a whisper can sound like a shout for those who have hyperacusis.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Feeling pain is common for people who have hyperacusis. That’s not always the case with auditory recruitment.
At the end of the day, auditory recruitment and hyperacusis have some superficially similar symptoms. But they aren’t the same condition.
Is there any way to treat audio recruitment?
Here’s the bad news, there’s no cure for hearing loss. Your hearing will never return once it goes. Managing hearing loss early will go a long way to prevent this.
The same is true of auditory recruitment. Luckily, there are ways to effectively treat auditory recruitment. Typically, hearing aids are part of that treatment. And those hearing aids need to be specially calibrated. So it will be necessary to make an appointment with us.
We’ll be able to determine the specific wavelengths of sound that are responsible for your auditory recruitment symptoms. Your hearing aids can then be calibrated to diminish that wavelength of sound. It’s sort of like magic, only it’s using science and technology (so, not really like magic at all, but it works really well is what we’re trying to convey here).
Successful treatment can only work with certain types of hearing aids. The symptoms can’t be managed with over-the-counter hearing devices because they lack the technological sophistication.
Contact us for an appointment
It’s essential that you recognize that you can find relief from your sensitivity to loud noise. The bonus is that your new hearing aid will make everything sound better.
But it all starts by making an appointment. Many people who have hearing loss deal with hypersensitivity to loud sound.
It doesn’t have to keep making you miserable.