Are People With Hyperacusis Hearing Normally?

Hearing sensitivity is associated with many other conditions.  Sometimes it is connected with hearing loss and sometimes not. Hyperacusis can occur with tinnitus, but not always.  So it is reasonable to ask if those with hyperacusis are actually hearing normally or not.

The hearing of hyperacusis patients is itself hotly debated.  Some state that hyperacusis patients have normal auditory systems except for the processing aspects which lead to unreasonable amplification of sound.  Others deny this and call it a derogatory statement as they feel that it puts the blame on the sufferer who is said to have caused his or her own sensitivity by withdrawing from noise.  These people claim that damage to the inner ear or other parts of the hearing apparatus of the body lead to both hyperacusis and hearing loss.

Some believe that there are two distinct types of hyperacusis.  One is cochlear affecting sound perception, and the other is vestibular which affects balance and stability.  In vestibular hyperacusis, hearing would probably not be affected one way or the other even though structures of the ear are damaged. 

In cochlear hyperacusis, hearing is often affected.  Hearing loss can accompany the extreme sensitivity to sound.  The person in this case hears little, but what they do hear is way too loud.  This makes wearing hearing aids problematic.  Many who have this combination of problems will stop wearing their hearing aids, or simply turn them off altogether.  I’ve heard they make wonderful ear plugs.

Tinnitus, a condition in which persistent ear noises cause the patient much discomfort, very often occurs in the same people as hyperacusis does.  In tinnitus, the ear noises may be seeming to come from inside the head, within the ear, or from some point outside the head, say slightly to the front or back.  Tinnitus has numerous causes and most seem to be physical illnesses or physical trauma.  Hyperacusis hearing may or may not be damaged physically, but the disruption to the patient’s life is just as great.  With both conditions together, it can become excruciating.

 Some methods of retraining the ear to once again become accustomed to everyday sound are used for both tinnitus and hyperacusis.  What the patient hears and experiences in his or her hearing is what determines the treatment. 

People with hyperacusis don’t always have loss of hearing.  They don’t always suffer from tinnitus.  Normal hearing can go along with hyperacusis.  That doesn’t mean that it always does.