Millions of years ago, the world was much different. This steamy, volcano-laden landscape is where the long-necked Diplacusis wandered. Diplacusis was so big, thanks to its long tail and neck, that no other predators were a threat.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. Diplacusis is a hearing affliction that causes you to hear two sounds instead of one.
While it’s not a “terrible lizard,” in many ways diplacusis can be a terror on its own, causing a hearing experience that feels confusing and out of sorts (often making communication difficult or impossible).
Maybe you’ve been hearing some odd things
Typically, we regard hearing loss as our hearing getting muted or quiet over time. According to this idea, over time, we just hear less and less. But sometimes, hearing loss can manifest in some peculiar ways. One of the most fascinating (or, perhaps, frustrating) such presentations is a condition called diplacusis.
What is diplacusis?
So, what’s diplacusis? The meaning of the medical name diplacusis is simply “double hearing”. Typically, your brain gets signals from your right ear and signals from the left ear and combines them harmoniously into a single sound. This combined sound is what you hear. The same thing happens with your eyes. If you place a hand on your right eye and then a hand on your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? Usually, with your ears, you won’t even notice it.
When your brain can’t successfully combine the two sounds from your ears because they are too different, you have this condition of diplacusis. Monaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in only one ear while binaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in both.
Diplacusis comes in two forms
Different individuals are impacted differently by diplacuses. Normally, though, people will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis echoica: This happens when the pitch is mostly the same from ear to ear, but because of your hearing loss, the timing is out of whack. This may cause echoes (or, instead, artifacts that sound like echoes). This can also cause challenges when it comes to understanding speech.
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This form of diplacusis happens when the pitch of the right ear and the pitch of the left ear are hearing sound as two different pitches. So when your grandchildren talk to you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. Maybe your right ear thinks the sound is low-pitched and your left ear hears the sound as high-pitched. Those sounds can be difficult to understand as a result.
Diplacusis symptoms
The symptoms of diplacusis can include:
- Off timing hearing
- Hearing echoes where they don’t actually exist.
- Hearing that seems off (in pitch).
The condition of double vision may be a helpful comparison: Yes, it can produce some symptoms on its own, but it’s usually itself a symptom of something else. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these circumstances, is most likely a symptom of hearing loss. So your best course of action would be to make an appointment with us for a hearing test.
What causes diplacusis?
In a very general sense (and probably not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis line up quite well with the causes of hearing loss. But there are some specific reasons why you may develop diplacusis:
- An infection: Inflammation of your ear canal can be the result of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This swelling is a typical immune response, but it can influence how sound waves move through your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud noises to damage your hearing, it’s possible that the same damage has led to hearing loss, and consequently, diplacusis.
- Earwax: Your ability to hear can be affected by an earwax obstruction. That earwax obstruction can cause diplacusis.
- A tumor: In some very rare instances, tumors in your ear canal can cause diplacusis. Don’t panic! In most instances they’re benign. But you should still speak with us about it.
It’s obvious that there are a number of the same causes of hearing loss and diplacusis. Which means that if you’re experiencing diplacusis, it’s a good bet something is impeding your ability to hear. Which means it’s a good idea to visit a hearing specialist.
How is diplacusis treated?
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the root cause. If you have an obstruction, treating your diplacusis will center around clearing it out. But permanent sensorineural hearing loss is more frequently the cause. In these situations, the best treatment options include:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be equalized with the correct set of hearing aids. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will most likely disappear. It’s essential to get the correct settings on your hearing aids and you’ll need to have us help you with that.
- Cochlear implant: A cochlear implant may be the only way of managing diplacusis if the root cause is profound hearing loss.
A hearing exam is the first step to getting it all figured out. Think about it like this: whatever kind of hearing loss is the cause of your diplacusis, a hearing exam will be able to establish that (and, to be fair, you might not even recognize it as diplacusis, you might just think stuff sounds weird these days). Modern hearing tests are really sensitive, and good at detecting inconsistencies between how your ears hear the world.
Life is more fun when you can hear clearly
Getting the right treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or some other treatment option, means you’ll be more able to participate in your daily life. It will be easier to talk to people. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms getting in the way of your ability to hear your grandkids telling you all about the Diplodocus.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to get it checked, give us a call for an appointment.
