You know that it can be challenging to get your partner’s attention if they have untreated hearing loss. First, you try to say their name. “Greg”, you say, but you used a normal, inside volume level, so you get nothing. You try saying Greg’s name a little louder and still nothing. So finally, you shout.
Well this time Greg hears you and crossly asks what you’re shouting for.
This situation isn’t due to stubbornness or irritability. Hypersensitivity to loud sound is frequently reported in those who have hearing loss. So it makes sense that Greg gets cranky 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. Usually, hearing loss will cause your hearing to diminish, especially if it goes untreated. But every now and then, you’ll watch a Michael Bay movie, or be having a conversation, or be having dinner in a restaurant, and things will get really noisy. Uncomfortably loud. Maybe the movie suddenly gets really loud or somebody is shouting to get your attention.
And you’ll wonder why you have this sensitivity to loud noise.
Which can also make you feel a bit cranky, honestly. Many people who experience this will feel like they’re going crazy. They have a hard time determining how loud things are. You have a sudden sensitivity to loud sounds even as your family and friends are pointing out your very noticeable hearing loss symptoms. It feels like a contradiction.
Auditory recruitment
The cause of this noise sensitivity is a condition called auditory recruitment. Here’s how it works:
- The interior of your ears are covered with tiny hairs known as stereocilia. These hairs vibrate 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. Over time, these fragile hairs are permanently damaged by frequent exposure to loud sounds. As a result, your hearing becomes less sensitive. Your level of hearing loss will be progressively worse the more hairs that are damaged.
- But this isn’t an evenly occurring process. There will be a combination of healthy and damaged hairs.
- So when you hear a loud sound, the damaged 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 gets really loud.
Think about it this way: everything is silent except for the Michael Bay explosion. So the Michael Bay explosion is going to seem louder (and more obnoxious) than it would otherwise!
Isn’t that exactly like hyperacusis?
Those symptoms might sound a little familiar. There is a condition known as hyperacusis that has comparable symptoms and the two are frequently confused. At first glance, this confusion is understandable. Auditory recruitment is a condition in which you have a sensitivity to loud noises, and hyperacusis is a condition in which sounds very suddenly get loud.
But here are a few substantial differences:
- Hyperacusis isn’t directly related to hearing loss. Auditory recruitment certainly is.
- Noises that are normal objectively will seem really loud for somebody who has hyperacusis. Think about it this way: When you’re experiencing auditory recruitment, a shout sounds like a shout; but a whisper could sound like a shout with hyperacusis.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Most individuals who experience hyperacusis report feelings of pain. That’s not always the situation with auditory recruitment.
Overall, auditory recruitment and hyperacusis have some superficially similar symptoms. But they are very different conditions.
Is there any way to treat audio recruitment?
There’s no cure for hearing loss and that’s the bad news. Once your hearing goes, it’s gone. Treating hearing loss early will go a long way to protect against this.
The same goes for auditory recruitment. Luckily, there are ways to effectively treat auditory recruitment. In most cases, that treatment will involve hearing aids. And there’s a particular calibration for those hearing aids. So it will be necessary to make an appointment with us.
The exact frequencies of sound that are triggering your auditory recruitment will be determined. Then your hearing aids will be dialed in to reduce 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 well is what we’re trying to communicate 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.
Make an appointment with us
It’s essential that you know that you can get relief from your sensitivity to loud sound. You will also get the additional benefit of using a hearing aid to improve your life’s soundscape.
But making an appointment is the starting point. This hypersensitivity is a normal part of the hearing loss process, it happens to many, many people.
You can get help so call us.
