If you have a partner with neglected hearing loss, you realize that getting their attention can be… a challenge. Their name is the first thing you try saying. “Greg”, you say, but you used a regular, inside volume level, so you get no reply. You try saying Greg’s name a bit louder and still nothing. So finally, you shout.
Well this time Greg hears you and grouchily asks what you’re shouting for.
This interaction isn’t due to stubbornness or impatience. Individuals with hearing loss often report hypersensitivity to loud sound. And this sensitivity to loud noises can help illustrate why Greg doesn’t hear his name at a normal volume but gets aggravated when you shout at him.
Can loud sounds seem louder with hearing loss?
So, hearing loss can be kind of peculiar. The majority of time, you’ll hear less and less, especially if your hearing loss goes untreated. But every once in a while, you’ll watch a Michael Bay movie, or be talking with someone, or be having dinner in a restaurant, and things will get really loud. Uncomfortably loud. Maybe it’s someone yelling to get your attention or one of the explosions in the newest Transformers film, it just gets really loud really fast.
And you’ll wonder why you’re so sensitive to loud noise.
Which can, honestly, put you in an irritable mood. Many people who notice this will feel like they’re going mad. They have a hard time figuring out how loud things are. You have a sudden sensitivity to loud sounds even as your friends and family are pointing out your very noticeable hearing loss symptoms. How can that be?
Auditory recruitment
The cause of this noise sensitivity is a condition known as auditory recruitment. this is how it works:
- There are tiny hairs, known as stereocilia, that cover the inside of your ear. These hairs resonate when soundwaves enter your ears and this vibration is then translated to sounds by your brain.
- Damage to these hairs is what produces age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Loud sounds can degrade the hairs over time, and once they are injured, they are unable to heal. Consequently, your hearing becomes less sensitive. The more damaged hairs you have, the less you’re able to hear.
- But this process doesn’t happen evenly. There is always some mixture of damaged hairs and healthy hairs.
- So when you hear a loud noise, the damaged hairs “recruit” the healthy hairs (hence the name of the condition) to send a warning message to your brain. So, suddenly, everything is very loud because all of your stereocilia are firing (just like they would with any other loud sound).
Think about it this way: That Michael Bay explosion is loud but everything else is quiet. So it will seem louder, when that Michael Bay explosion occurs, than it normally would.
Isn’t that the same as hyperacusis?
You may think that these symptoms sound a bit familiar. That’s probably because they’re often confused with a condition called hyperacusis. That confusion is, initially, reasonable. Both conditions can cause sounds to get very loud suddenly.
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 have hyperacusis, noises that are at an objectively ordinary volume seem very loud to you. Think about it like this: A shout will still sound like a shout with auditory recruitment; but a whisper can sound like a shout for those who have hyperacusis.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Most individuals who experience hyperacusis report feelings of pain. With auditory recruitment, that’s usually not the case.
It’s true that hyperacusis and auditory recruitment have some similar symptoms. But they are very different conditions.
Can auditory recruitment be treated?
The bad news is that there’s no cure for hearing loss. Once your hearing goes, it’s gone. Treatment of hearing loss can prevent this, largely.
This also is true for auditory recruitment. Fortunately, there are ways to effectively treat auditory recruitment. In most situations, that treatment will involve hearing aids. And there’s a specific calibration for those hearing aids. That’s why treating auditory recruitment will almost always require scheduling an appointment with us.
The precise frequencies of sound that are causing your auditory recruitment will be identified. Your hearing aids can then be adjusted to reduce that wavelength of sound. It’s kind of like magic, but it’s using science and technology (so, not really like magic at all, but it works really effectively is what we’re trying to convey 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 will not be able to address your symptoms.
Schedule an appointment with us
It’s essential that you recognize that you can find relief from your sensitivity to loud sound. You will also get the extra benefit of using a hearing aid to improve your life’s soundscape.
But it all begins by scheduling an appointment. This hypersensitivity is a normal part of the hearing loss process, it happens to lots and lots of people.
It doesn’t have to keep making you miserable.
