I
have such good hearing that even loud noises bother me...
Not necessarily, this can be a lowered tolerance for sound, meaning:
hyperacusis, mishophonia, phonophobia and even a combination of them
all!!!
Reading
this you will probably say you've had enough... first we wrote about
hearing, then about caring for your hearing, after that we wrote
about caring for the health of your brain as it relates to dealing
with speech understanding, and now we are writing about tinnitus
(which is a ringing or noise in the ears that is always there). But
that's not the end of our journey through what we might encounter
with hearing disorders and problems. In this article we are going to
cover HYPERACUSIS, which is a condition or
disorder caused by changes in the way our brain works and interprets
sounds, the changes are essentially over stimulation at the neural
level initiated by hearing stimuli. The term basically means a
hearing condition characterized by a lowered tolerance for sound, the
effect of which is hyperacusis and misophonia – two of the more
common hearing disorders.
People
affected by hyperacusis will also usually have misphonia, which is
the second main component of a lowered tolerance for sounds and
noises. The third may be (appearing quite often) phonophobia. The
mechanics of these ailments are somewhat different. Studies show that
quite a large amount of people suffering from Tinnitus also have a
lowered tolerance for sound (hyperacusis.
It
is also worth mentioning that the so called 'recruitment' (occurrence
based on picking up a minor change in volume, in a non-proportional
manner exaggerated by our perception, in comparison to actual change)
refers to a person with 'sensorineural hearing loss' and does not
include those with hearing loss outlined in this article. Regarding
the phenomena of 'recruitment' we will bring it up in another article
titled 'Sensorineural Hearing Loss'.
Cases
of lowered tolerance for sound affects many people that believe they
have such amazing hearing that they can hear a pin drop from a table
to a floor – they do however have a problem with loud sounds,
especially with certain types of loud sounds at different frequencies
(this is very specific to the person), they feel a sharp pain and
have a pronounced reaction when they experience this. Standard
testing of hearing in these people will often show very good hearing
with minimal loss or deficiency, even being able to pick up faint
sounds and whispers in the tests. They are however unable to live and
function regularly due to their hearing sensitivity.
Treating
hyperacusis, misophonia or phonophobia, as with. tinnitus is a highly
specialized field. Fortunately for sufferers it is quick and easy to
make an appointment, a referral from a family doctor is not required.
Hyperacusis like many other ailments related to hearing can also
appear as a symptom of a much more serious condition and other
health problems. It is very important to get checked for this
condition by a trained specialist so that further problems and
medical complications can be avoided.
