If you have a partner with neglected hearing loss, you know that getting their attention can be… a struggle. First, you try to use their name. You say “Greg”, but you get no response because you used an indoor volume level. You try raising your volume and saying Greg’s name again but he still doesn’t respond. So finally, you shout.
Well this time Greg hears you and grouchily asks what you’re yelling for.
This situation isn’t due to stubbornness or irritability. Hypersensitivity to loud sound is often reported in those with hearing loss. So it seems logical 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 hearing loss make loud sounds worse?
Hearing loss can be a strange thing. Typical, hearing loss will cause your hearing to diminish, especially if it goes untreated. But things can get very loud when you’re out at a busy restaurant or watching a Michael Bay movie. So loud that it can become uncomfortable. Maybe the movie gets really loud all of a sudden or somebody is shouting to get your attention.
And you’ll think: Why am I so sensitive to loud noise?
Which can, honestly, put you in an irritable mood. Many individuals who notice this will feel like they’re going mad. That’s because they can’t get a handle on how loud anything is. Imagine, all of your family, friends, and acquaintances seem to confirm you’re losing your hearing, but you have this sudden sensitivity to loud sound. How can that be?
Auditory recruitment
A condition called auditory recruitment can cause these symptoms. this is how it works:
- The interior of your ears are covered with tiny hairs called stereocilia. When soundwaves enter into your ears, these hairs resonate and your brain translates that signal into sounds.
- Damage to these hairs is what brings about age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Loud sounds can degrade the hairs over time, and once they are damaged, they are unable to heal. Your hearing becomes more muffled as a result. The more damaged hairs you have, the less you’re able to hear.
- But this isn’t an evenly occurring process. There is always some mixture of damaged hairs and healthy hairs.
- So when the impaired hairs are exposed to a loud sound, the healthy hairs are “recruited” (thus the condition’s name) to send a message of alarm to your brain. Suddenly, all of the stereocilia fire, and everything gets really loud.
Think about it like this: That Michael Bay explosion is loud but everything else is quiet. So the Michael Bay explosion will seem louder (and more obnoxious) than it would otherwise!
Sounds a lot like hyperacusis
You may think that these symptoms sound a bit familiar. That’s probably because they’re often confused with a condition called hyperacusis. When you first compare them, this confusion is understandable. Auditory recruitment is a condition where you have a sensitivity to loud sounds, and hyperacusis is a condition where sounds very abruptly get loud.
But here are some considerable differences:
- While hyperacusis has no link to hearing loss, there is a direct link between auditory recruitment and hearing loss.
- Noises that are normal objectively will seem very loud for somebody who has hyperacusis. Think about it this way: When you have auditory recruitment, a shout sounds like a shout; but a whisper could sound like a shout for those who have hyperacusis.
- Hyperacusis is painful. Literally. Most people who cope with hyperacusis report feeling pain. With auditory recruitment, that’s typically not the situation.
It’s true that hyperacusis and auditory recruitment have some 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. Your hearing will never return once it’s gone. Treatment of hearing loss can prevent this, largely.
The same is true of auditory recruitment. But here’s the good news, auditory recruitment can be treated successfully. In most cases, that treatment will involve hearing aids. And those hearing aids need to be specifically calibrated. That’s why addressing auditory recruitment will nearly always require scheduling an appointment with us.
We’ll be able to identify the particular wavelengths of sound that are causing your auditory recruitment symptoms. Your hearing aids can then be adjusted to reduce that wavelength of sound. It’s kind of like magic, but it’s using science and technology (so, not really like magic at all, but it works really well is what we’re trying to convey here).
Only specific types of hearing aid will be effective. Over-the-counter hearing aids or sound amplifiers, for instance, do not have the necessary technological sophistication and built-in sensitivity, so they will not be able to address your symptoms.
Schedule an appointment with us
It’s essential that you recognize that you can find relief from your sensitivity to loud noise. You will also get the additional benefit of using a hearing aid to enhance your life’s soundscape.
But making an appointment is the starting point. This hypersensitivity is a natural part of the hearing loss process, it happens to lots and lots of people.
It doesn’t have to keep making you miserable.
