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If
you are one of
the millions of
people in the
world who suffer
from hyperacusis, this site may be helpful for you and your medical
providers.
Hyperacusis is defined as an inability to tolerate everyday sounds.
It is also defined as a collapse of the normal range of hearing that
is present in otherwise normally functioning ears.
People with hyperacusis may find that certain sounds are more
difficult to listen to than others, and some sounds may cause pain
in the ears, even when those sounds don't bother others. Often, the
most disturbing or painful sounds can be sudden high pitched noises
like alarms, bus brakes, silverware and dishes, children's screams,
and clapping.
Sometimes, hyperacusis can be so severe that people begin to avoid
any public or social setting in a vain attempt to protect their ears
from any sounds. It can be very difficult for family members or
medical providers to understand and support the person with
hyperacusis, which cannot be seen in images, like a broken bone.
Hyperacusis can come on suddenly or gradually. It can initially
affect only one ear but generally speaking, within a short time, the
condition is almost always bilateral. It can be mild or severe.
Often, people who have hyperacusis also have tinnitus, or phantom
noises in their auditory system (ringing, buzzing, chirping,
humming, or beating).
Adults and children can develop hyperacusis: certain birth
conditions are associated with hyperacusis, including Williams
Syndrome and autism. Since the auditory system connects the outer
organs of hearing with the central nervous system, through a complex
series of neural pathways, that literally pass through or coordinate
with many diverse areas of the brain, there are endless
possibilities for dysfunction that may contribute to hyperacusis. In
other words, diagnosis is often extremely challenging and difficult
to specifically locate a single structural change that is
responsible for hyperacusis.
The billions of electrical signals that are processed by our central
nervous system must be ordered and prioritized for our practical
use. If you are reading a good book, and a bee stings you, the
effect is dramatic and the primary activity instantaneously shifts!
In the case of hyperacusis, detecting which of these billions of
electrical or biochemical processes has changed is still impossible.
But with proper, experienced, thorough investigation, coordination
with all the medical providers, often a reasonable conclusion can be
established for a particular patient.
The most common causes of hyperacusis are
Hearing Loss, Noise Injury
Head Injury
Acoustic Trauma
Adverse reaction to medication or surgeries
Chronic ear infections
Auto immune disorders
Unknown
By far, the most common causes of hyperacusis are noise injuries or
head injuries. Neck injuries can also contribute, i.e., whiplash.
There remains huge areas of medical scientific research and data
accumulation that must be explored before we can really begin to
define and understand the different types of hyperacusis, and the
origins of this troubling disorder. potential
adverse advent.
