Have you ever had your car break down in the middle of the road? It’s not a fun situation. Your car has to be safely pulled off the road. And then, for whatever reason, you probably pop your hood and have a look at your engine.
Humorously, you still do this even though you have no knowledge of engines. Maybe you think there’ll be a convenient knob you can turn or something. Eventually, you have to call somebody to tow your car to a mechanic.
And a picture of the issue only becomes evident when mechanics diagnose it. That’s because cars are intricate, there are so many moving pieces and computerized software that the symptoms (your car that won’t start) aren’t enough to inform you as to what’s wrong.
With hearing loss, this same kind of thing can happen. The symptom itself doesn’t necessarily identify what the cause is. There’s the common cause (noise-related hearing loss), sure. But in some cases, something else like auditory neuropathy is the cause.
What is auditory neuropathy?
When most individuals consider hearing loss, they think of noisy concerts and jet engines, excessive noise that harms your ability to hear. This kind of hearing loss is known as sensorineural hearing loss, and it’s a bit more involved than simple noise damage.
But in some cases, this sort of long-term, noise induced damage is not the cause of hearing loss. A condition called auditory neuropathy, while less common, can in some cases be the cause. This is a hearing condition in which your ear and inner ear receive sounds just fine, but for some reason, can’t fully transfer those sounds to your brain.
Symptoms of auditory neuropathy
The symptoms of traditional noise related hearing loss can often look very much like those of auditory neuropathy. Things like cranking the volume up on your devices and not being capable of hearing very well in loud environments. This can often make auditory neuropathy hard to diagnose and manage.
Still, auditory neuropathy does have a few unique properties that make it possible to identify. These presentations are pretty solid indicators that you aren’t experiencing sensorineural hearing loss, but auditory neuropathy instead. Obviously, nothing can replace getting a real-time diagnosis from us about your hearing loss.
The more unique symptoms of auditory neuropathy include:
- Sound fades in and out: Perhaps it feels like someone is playing with the volume knob inside of your head! This could be a sign that you’re experiencing auditory neuropathy.
- Difficulty understanding speech: Sometimes, you can’t understand what someone is saying even though the volume is normal. Words are confused and unclear.
- Sounds sound jumbled or confused: Once again, this is not a problem with volume. The volume of what you’re hearing is just fine, the issue is that the sounds seem jumbled and you can’t understand them. This can go beyond the spoken word and pertain to all types of sounds around you.
What triggers auditory neuropathy?
These symptoms can be explained, in part, by the root causes behind this particular disorder. On a personal level, the reasons why you might develop auditory neuropathy might not be entirely clear. This disorder can develop in both adults and children. And, broadly speaking, there are a couple of well described possible causes:
- Nerve damage: The hearing center of your brain receives sound from a particular nerve in your ear. The sounds that the brain attempts to “interpret” will sound unclear if there is damage to this nerve. Sounds may seem garbled or too quiet to hear when this occurs.
- The cilia that transmit signals to the brain can be compromised: If these delicate hairs inside of your inner ear become compromised in a specific way, the sound your ear senses can’t really be passed on to your brain, at least, not in its complete form.
Risk factors of auditory neuropathy
Some people will experience auditory neuropathy while others won’t and no one is really sure why. Because of this, there isn’t a tried and true way to prevent auditory neuropathy. Still, there are close associations which might show that you’re at a higher risk of developing this condition.
Bear in mind that even if you have all of these risk factors you still may or may not experience auditory neuropathy. But the more risk factors shown, the higher your statistical probability of developing this disorder.
Children’s risk factors
Factors that can increase the risk of auditory neuropathy for children include the following:
- A low birth weight
- Other neurological disorders
- A lack of oxygen during birth or before labor begins
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- Preterm or premature birth
- Liver conditions that result in jaundice (a yellow appearance to the skin)
Risk factors for adults
For adults, risk factors that increase your likelihood of experiencing auditory neuropathy include:
- Immune diseases of various kinds
- Specific infectious diseases, such as mumps
- Overuse of medications that cause hearing problems
- auditory neuropathy and other hearing disorders that are passed on genetically
In general, it’s a good idea to limit these risks as much as possible. Scheduling regular screenings with us is a good plan, especially if you do have risk factors.
How is auditory neuropathy diagnosed?
A normal hearing test involves listening to tones with a pair of headphones and raising a hand depending on which side you hear the tone on. When you’re dealing with auditory neuropathy, that test will be of extremely minimal use.
Instead, we will usually suggest one of two tests:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: This diagnostic is designed to measure how well your inner ear and cochlea react to sound stimuli. A tiny microphone is put just inside your ear canal. Then a battery of tones and clicks will be played. Then your inner ear will be assessed to see how it reacts. If the inner ear is a problem, this data will reveal it.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: During this diagnostic test, you’ll have special electrodes attached to specific places on your scalp and head. Again, don’t worry, there’s nothing painful or unpleasant about this test. These electrodes place particular focus on measuring how your brainwaves react to sound stimuli. The quality of your brainwave responses will help us determine whether your hearing problems reside in your outer ear (as with sensorineural hearing loss) or further in (as with auditory neuropathy).
Diagnosing your auditory neuropathy will be much more successful once we run the applicable tests.
Does auditory neuropathy have any treatments?
So, in the same way as you bring your car to the auto technician to get it fixed, you can bring your ears to us for treatment! Auditory neuropathy generally has no cure. But this condition can be treated in a few possible ways.
- Hearing aids: In some milder cases, hearing aids will be able to supply the necessary sound amplification to help you hear better, even if you have auditory neuropathy. Hearing aids will be a sufficient solution for some people. That said, this isn’t usually the case, because, once again, volume is almost never the problem. Hearing aids are often used in conjunction with other treatments because of this.
- Cochlear implant: For some people, hearing aids will not be able to get around the issues. It might be necessary to opt for cochlear implants in these situations. This implant, basically, takes the signals from your inner ear and transports them directly to your brain. The internet has plenty of videos of people having success with these amazing devices!
- Frequency modulation: Sometimes, it’s possible to hear better by increasing or reducing specific frequencies. With a technology known as frequency modulation, that’s precisely what happens. This approach often makes use of devices that are, basically, highly customized hearing aids.
- Communication skills training: Communication skills training can be put together with any combination of these treatments if needed. This will help you communicate with the hearing you have and work around your symptoms instead of treating them.
It’s best to get treatment as soon as possible
Getting your condition treated promptly will, as with any hearing disorder, produce better outcomes.
So if you think you have auditory neuropathy, or even just regular old hearing loss, it’s essential to get treatment as soon as possible. You’ll be able to get back to hearing better and enjoying your life once you make an appointment and get treated. This can be extremely crucial for children, who experience a lot of cognitive development and linguistic growth during their early years.
