Supersonic Hearing Caused by Hyperacusis?

Does anyone else have extremely "good" hearing because of hyperacusis amplification? Not in a good way at all, it's quite torturous.

Basically, I can loudly hear things that normal people can't like a buzzing noise that comes from electronics and outlets, buzzing from lights, an overlay of distortion from low fidelity audio that reveals its true quality (if that makes sense), and individual crickets or birds chirping where I can hear each minute change in pitch. It probably wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I can hear a pin drop in a room.

I scored extremely well on my 250 Hz-8000 Hz audiogram and apparently my hearing is in the top percentiles. So my audiologist gave me a pat on the back, obviously not realizing that much of the suffering is caused by this constant over-amplification.

 

Yes, same for me. I’m hearing all sorts of new sound in my flat like dimmer switches buzzing and drips from the bathroom sink. I’m hoping it drops as that would be a very large percentage of my problems resolved.

 

I have this with some lights, the hum from kitchen appliances etc... it did go away for certain things over time so hoping it completely resolves.

 

Yep. I think this is often referred to as "recruitment" in hyperacusis cases. Where it is believed the brain "turns up" hair cells adjacent to missing/damaged hair cells. The monitor I'm using right now, for example, the transformer inside of it makes a high-pitches buzz that barely shows up on a decibel meter, however I know my ears are turning up. Same goes with power adapters for some electronics around the house. It's really noticeable when the room is quiet and they're the only source of sound. I have noticed this issue fluctuates over time.

 

Yes! I have hearing loss and I still can hear all of those hums and buzzes. I hate it! I am relieved to see I’m not the only one. I’m sorry that you are dealing with this, too.

 

I have been able to hear those noises all my life, in pre-hyperacusis days.

With hyperacusis the difference is that sound input is not balanced, or so "layered" when it reaches my brain, and now with some hearing loss it is almost impossible for me to listen to two speech sources and make out what both said. Speech in noise is getting very hard too...

 

I get what you mean. Sound "hits" your ear differently and you can almost feel the vibrations. Must have something to do with the way the damaged hair cells receive input.

 

I think it does not only have to do with amplification and distortion, but also with lack of inhibition. Maybe all this have to do with outer hair cells malfunctioning, or disappearing, dying...

 

When I told a friend of mine that I got hyperacusis, she told me that as a special needs teacher she has often come across autistic children who can hear the sound of electricity running through wires in the walls and stuff like that. I believe it's called autistic sensory overload. I would be interested to know if there are some commonalities between the brains of hyperacusis sufferers who have this symptom and autistic brains in people who have autistic sensory overload. Perhaps this could give us some further insight into the pathology of hyperacusis and the role the brain plays in this condition (if any).

 

I very much doubt it. The sound sensitivity/sensory overload among autists is very different from hyperacusis due to physically damaged ears. I'd say it's closer to misophonia which also has nothing to do with damaged hearing.

 

How do autistic children have amplified hearing like that though? I would assume theirs is more brain related and tied to misophonia than noise-induced hyperacusis, which probably comes down to structural issues in and around the inner ear.

 

Yes, it's probably brain related and more like misophonia. I don't think they have sound amplification in the same sense as us hyperacusis sufferers and I wouldn't call it supersonic hearing either. I think it's more about a processing and filtering based problem in the brain where the brain is unable to tune out "unimportant sound". For example, a ticking clock which most people doesn't even hear unless they acknowledge it is there and starts to actively listen to it. But for people with autism these sounds interfere.

I have several friends with autism (albeit "high functioning") and they all have this problem with sounds. They wear NC headphones when in busy places, like public transport or noisy cities and sleep with earplugs because they are unable to tune out ambient unimportant sounds like ticking clocks, computer fans etc. They do not have a problem in general with loud volume nor do they have supersonic hearing.

 

I've always had this. Not in a hyperacusis sense, just extremely good hearing and an inability to tune out background noise. I attribute it to ADHD.

@weab00 like you, my hearing test was also extremely good (all between -5 and +5 dB even with several fluctuating tinnitus tones).