Most people love to engage in a conversation at a party while music is playing and other party guests are have loud conversations in the room at the same time. You should also be able to attend a concert or play that has sounds from the stage without experiencing pain hearing the dialogue or music of the performance. If you have normal Loudness Discomfort Levels or LDL’s, you don’t have a problem hearing loud sounds or noises. LDL’s are the level of noise that a normal or average person is able to withstand without any discomfort. When your levels are lower than that, you have a hypersensitivity to noise which is diagnosed as Hyperacusis. The term is used to diagnose a person where everyday noise such a television, running water and talking are too much for them to listen to comfortably. They may also experience pain as well. This can be a disorder that debilitates a person and keeps them from enjoying normal, everyday life. The great thing is that there are treatments that are available to treat hyperacusis that can alleviate a lot of the symptoms.
What is Hyperacusis?: Hyperacusis is a diagnosis that is given to a person that has complaints about normal and average noises around their daily life. An average person has the ability to listen to noises that reach up to 90 decibels comfortably; that includes a motorcycle or lawn mower. The problem is that a person with hyperacusis is not able to stand this level of noise without pain or discomfort. There LDL is much lower than that.
What Causes Hyperacusis?: If you have a hyperacusis diagnosis you could have had it developing over time or you could have it occur suddenly. The lining or fibers that help to regulate your hearing can be affected by some kind of trauma or disease. Scientists have linked hyperacusis to events such as a traumatic injury, or even loud noises that you may have been exposed to during your career. Others may also have a history of ear infections and migraines. These can all lead to your LDL to lessen over time. Eventually you can be at a level that does not allow you to be in normal everyday settings without discomfort.
Hyperacusis Treatment: If you have this diagnosis you might think that you are resolved to live in silence or quiet. That is not the case and there are some treatments that are used to help with these types of cases. The best way to treat your hyperacusis is to add pink noise to your hearing through a hearing device. You can use a hearing aid that has specially equipped to emit the pink noise. Pink noise is a level of noise that is used to send a frequency in your ear on a regular basis. If you have this type of noise sensitivity you want to be sure that you get treatment from an ENT specialist. They are able to test the hearing and make the appropriate diagnosis as well as start treatment.
ENT Specialists offers diagnosis and treatment. Give our office a call to have your hearing test scheduled today.
