{"id":1114,"date":"2021-05-24T18:40:55","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T18:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2021-05-24T18:40:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T18:40:58","slug":"understanding-hyperacusis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/understanding-hyperacusis\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Hyperacusis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Loud sounds are uncomfortable for everyone. But do you ever experience extreme discomfort or pain over everyday sounds like your neighbor\u2019s dog barking, a dish breaking or a car door slamming in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lloydcenter.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Lloyd Center<\/a> parking lot? If so, you may have a condition known as hyperacusis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Hyperacusis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Woman gets an ear exam.\" class=\"wp-image-1116\" width=\"363\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 363px) 100vw, 363px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hyperacusis is defined as abnormal sensitivity to sounds. When exposed to a loud or sudden sound, even if its commonplace, a person with hyperacusis may experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pain or discomfort in the ears.<\/li><li>Ear fullness.<\/li><li>Sensation of thumping or fluttering.<\/li><li>Headache.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms can range from mild to severe and can affect one or both ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Common Is Hyperacusis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While it\u2019s unclear exactly how many people have hyperacusis, some estimates are available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>According to the CDC, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/preview\/mmwrhtml\/mm6437a8.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2014 survey<\/a> found that 5.9% of Americans are sensitive to everyday sounds.<\/li><li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noiseandhealth.org\/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2016;volume=18;issue=83;spage=178;epage=184;aulast=Paulin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016 Swedish study<\/a> found that 9-17% of the population have a problem with everyday noises.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Causes of Hyperacusis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hyperacusis is often the result of a phenomenon known as auditory gain, which happens when the brain \u2018turns up\u2019 the volume on regular sounds in order to compensate for damage. Underlying causes of auditory gain include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Noise pollution, oftentimes related to occupation.<\/li><li>Head injury.<\/li><li>Ototoxic medications.<\/li><li>Viral infection that affects the inner nerve (like Bell\u2019s palsy).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Comorbidities of Hyperacusis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people have balance problems that are exacerbated by hyperacusis, meaning they experience dizziness in response to a loud sound, possibly in addition to other symptoms. This is known as vestibular hyperacusis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other people experience tinnitus (ringing in the ears) when exposed to a loud sound. For many, this is their primary symptom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some other conditions that have been linked to hyperacusis include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Depression.<\/li><li>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/li><li>Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).<\/li><li>Lyme disease.<\/li><li>Migraines.<\/li><li>Epilepsy.<\/li><li>Chronic fatigue syndrome.<\/li><li>Meniere\u2019s disease.<\/li><li>Autism spectrum disorder.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Is Hyperacusis Treated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment of hyperacusis often depends on the underlying cause and other comorbid conditions. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Hyperacusis caused by an injury may improve as you recover.<\/li><li>For those with hyperacusis as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing loss<\/a>, specially-programmed hearing aids provide relief.<\/li><li>Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), auditory integration therapy (AIT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy are helpful for many.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about hyperacusis or <a href=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to schedule an appointment<\/a> with a hearing specialist, call Audiology Center Northwest today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Hearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/new-study-links-covid-19-with-hearing-loss-tinnitus\/\">New Study Links COVID-19 with Hearing Loss &amp; Tinnitus<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/five-ways-to-protect-your-hearing\/\">Five Ways to Protect Your Hearing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/the-role-genetics-play-in-hearing-loss\/\">The Role Genetics Play in Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Loud sounds are uncomfortable for everyone. But do you ever experience extreme discomfort or pain over everyday sounds like your neighbor\u2019s dog barking, a dish breaking or a car door slamming in the The Lloyd Center parking lot? If so, you may have a condition known as hyperacusis. What Is Hyperacusis? Hyperacusis is defined as&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Hyperacusis is often the result of a phenomenon known as auditory gain, which happens when the brain \u2018turns up\u2019 the volume on regular sounds.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1118,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions\/1118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/audiologycenternw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}