The world was extremely different millions of years ago. The long-necked Diplacusis roamed this volcano-laden landscape. Diplacusis was so big, due to its long tail and neck, that no other predators were a threat.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. When you’re hearing two sounds simultaneously, that’s a hearing condition known as diplacusis.
Diplacusis is a condition which can be frustrating and confusing resulting in difficulty communicating.
Maybe you’ve been hearing some strange things
Usually, we think of hearing loss as our hearing becoming muted or quiet over time. According to this idea, over time, we just hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well known, forms of hearing loss. Diplacusis is one of the stranger, and also more frustrating, of these hearing problems.
What is diplacusis?
So, what is diplacusis? Diplacusis is a medical term that means, pretty simply, “double hearing”. Typically, your brain gets information from the right ear and information from the left ear and joins them harmoniously into a single sound. This blended sound is what you hear. Your eyes are doing the same thing. You will see slightly different images if you cover each eye one at a time. Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
Diplacusis happens when the hearing abilities of your ears vary so wildly that your brain can no longer merge them, at least not very well. You can experience diplacusis as a result of hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Diplacusis comes in two types
Diplacusis doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. Usually, though, people will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear don’t match it’s an indication of this form of diplacusis. So when your grandkids speak with you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. One side may sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. This can make those sounds difficult to make out.
- Diplacusis echoica: This occurs when the pitch is nearly the same from ear to ear, but because of your hearing loss, the timing is all wonky. This could cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound like echoes). And understanding speech can become difficult because of this.
Symptoms of diplacusis
The symptoms of diplacusis could include:
- Off pitch hearing
- Off timing hearing
- Phantom echoes
Having said that, it’s helpful to view diplacusis as similar to double vision: It’s usually a symptom of something else, but it can create some of its own symptoms. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these circumstances, is probably a symptom of hearing loss. As a result, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably make an appointment with a hearing specialist.
What causes diplacusis?
In a very basic sense (and perhaps not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis align rather nicely with the causes of hearing loss. But you may experience diplacusis for numerous specific reasons:
- Earwax: Your ability to hear can be impacted by an earwax blockage. Whether that earwax causes a partial or full blockage, it can cause diplacusis.
- An infection: Ear infections, sinus infections, or even normal allergies can cause your ear canal to swell. This inflammation is a common immune response, but it can impact the way sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced hearing loss caused by noise damage, it’s feasible that it could cause diplacusis.
- A tumor: In some very rare cases, tumors inside your ear canal can result in diplacusis. Don’t panic! In most cases they’re benign. But you still should talk to us about it.
As you can see, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same common causes. Meaning that you most likely have some degree of hearing loss if you have diplacusis. Which means it’s a good idea to see a hearing specialist.
How is diplacusis treated?
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the root cause. If you have a blockage, treating your diplacusis will focus on clearing it out. However, diplacusis is frequently caused by irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be equalized with the right set of hearing aids. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will likely disappear. You’ll want to speak with us about getting the right settings for your hearing aids.
- Cochlear implant: In circumstances where the hearing loss at the root of diplacusis is profound, a cochlear implant might be the only way to provide relief from the symptoms.
All of this begins with a hearing exam. Think about it like this: whatever kind of hearing loss is the cause of your diplacusis, a hearing test will be able to identify that (perhaps you simply think things sound weird at this point and you don’t even recognize it as diplacusis). We have very sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be detected.
Life is more fun when you can hear clearly
Getting the proper treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or something else, means you’ll be more capable of participating in your daily life. Talking with others will be easier. It will be easier to stay in tune with your family.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms interfering with your ability to hear your grandchildren telling you all about the Diplodocus.
Call today for an appointment to have your diplacusis symptoms assessed.
