If you have a partner with untreated hearing loss, you realize that getting their attention can be… a struggle. Their name is the first thing you try saying. “Greg”, you say, but you used a normal, inside volume level, so you get no reply. You try raising your volume and saying Greg’s name again but he still doesn’t respond. So you resort to shouting.
And that’s when Greg whirls around with absolutely no awareness of his comedic timing and says grouchily, “what are you shouting for?”
It’s not just stubbornness and irritability that create this interaction. Hypersensitivity to loud sound is often documented in those with hearing loss. So it makes sense that Greg gets cranky when you shout his name after he continually fails to hear you when you talk to him at a normal volume.
Can hearing loss make loud sounds worse?
Hearing loss can be a peculiar thing. The vast majority of time, you’ll hear less and less, especially if your hearing loss remains unaddressed. But things can get really loud when you’re out at a crowded restaurant or watching a Michael Bay movie. So loud that it can get uncomfortable. Maybe it’s somebody shouting to get your attention or one of the explosions in the newest Transformers movie, it just gets really loud really fast.
And you’ll think: What’s causing this sensitivity to loud noise?
Which can also make you feel a little cranky, honestly. Many people will feel like they’re going mad when they notice this. They have a difficult time determining 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. It feels like a contradiction.
Auditory recruitment
A condition called auditory recruitment can cause these symptoms. this is how it works:
- The inside of your ears are covered in tiny hairs known as stereocilia. These hairs resonate when soundwaves enter your ears and this vibration is then converted to sounds by your brain.
- Deterioration of these hairs is what causes age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Loud sounds can degrade the hairs over time, and once they are injured, they never heal. Your hearing becomes more muffled as a result. The more damaged hairs you have, the less you can hear.
- But this process doesn’t occur evenly. There is always some combination of damaged hairs and healthy hairs.
- So when you hear a loud noise, the damaged hairs “recruit” the healthy hairs (thus the name of the condition) to send an alarmed message to your brain. So, all of a sudden, everything is very loud because all of your stereocilia are firing (just as they would with any other loud sound).
Think about it like this: everything is quiet except for the Michael Bay explosion. So it will seem louder, when that Michael Bay explosion occurs, than it normally would.
Sounds like hyperacusis
You might think that these symptoms sound a bit familiar. There is a condition known as hyperacusis that has similar symptoms and the two are often confused. That confusion is, initially, understandable. Auditory recruitment is a condition in which you have a sensitivity to loud sounds, and hyperacusis is a condition in which sounds very abruptly get loud.
But here are a few substantial differences:
- Hyperacusis isn’t directly related to hearing loss. Auditory recruitment certainly is.
- When you’re dealing with hyperacusis, noises that are at an objectively ordinary volume seem really loud to you. Think about it this way: When you have auditory recruitment, a shout sounds like a shout; but a whisper can sound like a shout with hyperacusis.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Most individuals who experience hyperacusis report feeling pain. With auditory recruitment, that’s usually not the situation.
Overall, auditory recruitment and hyperacusis have a few superficially similar symptoms. But they are not the same condition.
Is there any treatment for audio recruitment?
The bad news is that there’s no cure for hearing loss. Your hearing will never come back once it’s gone. Treatment of hearing loss can largely prevent this.
This also applies to auditory recruitment. Luckily, there are ways to effectively manage auditory recruitment. In most situations, that treatment will include hearing aids. And those hearing aids need to be specifically calibrated. That’s why addressing auditory recruitment will nearly always require making an appointment with us.
We’ll be able to identify the particular wavelengths of sound that are causing your auditory recruitment symptoms. Then your hearing aids will be dialed in to lower the volume of those wavelengths. It’s a really effective treatment.
Only specific types of hearing aid will be effective. Over-the-counter hearing aids or sound amplifiers, for instance, don’t have the necessary technological sophistication and built-in sensitivity, so they won’t be able to deal with your symptoms.
Make an appointment with us
If you are noticing sensitivity to loud sounds, it’s important to recognize that you can get relief. You will also get the extra benefit of using a hearing aid to enhance your life’s soundscape.
But it all begins by scheduling an appointment. Many people who have hearing loss cope with hypersensitivity to loud sound.
You can get help so call us.
