Millions of years ago, the world was a lot different. The long-necked Diplacusis roamed this volcano-laden landscape. Thanks to its really long neck and tail, Diplacusis was so big that it was afraid of no predator.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. Diplacusis is a hearing affliction that causes you to hear two sounds instead of one.
While it’s not a “horrible lizard,” in many ways diplacusis can be a menace on its own, leading to a hearing experience that feels bewildering and out of sorts (often making communication difficult or impossible).
Perhaps your hearing has been a bit strange lately
Typically, we regard hearing loss as our hearing becoming muted or quiet over time. According to this idea, over time, we just hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well recognized, forms of hearing loss. One of the most interesting (or, perhaps, frustrating) such presentations is a condition called diplacusis.
Diplacusis, what is it?
So, what is diplacusis? The meaning of the medical name diplacusis is basically “double hearing”. Typically, your brain gets signals from your right ear and signals from the left ear and marries them harmoniously into a single sound. That’s what you hear. Your eyes are doing the same thing. If you place a hand over your right eye and then a hand on your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? It’s the same with your ears, it’s just that usually, you don’t notice it.
Diplacusis occurs when the hearing abilities of your ears vary so significantly that your brain can no longer merge them, at least not well. Monaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in only one ear while binaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in both.
Diplacusis comes in two kinds
Different people are affected differently by diplacuses. Normally, though, individuals will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will seem off because your brain gets the sound from each ear out of sync with the other rather than hearing two separate pitches. Artifacts like echoes can be the outcome. This can also cause difficulty with regard to understanding speech.
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This form of diplacusis occurs when the pitch of the right ear and the pitch of the left ear are hearing sound as two different pitches. So when your grandkids speak with you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. Maybe your right ear hears the sound as low-pitched and your left ear hears the sound as high-pitched. This can make those sounds difficult to make out.
Symptoms of diplacusis
Here are a few symptoms of diplacusis:
- Hearing that seems off (in pitch).
- Off timing hearing
- Hearing echoes where they don’t actually exist.
The condition of double vision could be a useful comparison: Yes, it can produce some symptoms on its own, but it’s usually itself a symptom of something else. (It’s the effect, essentially, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these cases, is probably a symptom of hearing loss. Consequently, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably schedule an appointment with us.
What are the causes diplacusis?
The causes of diplacusis line up quite well, in a general sense, with the causes of hearing loss. But you may develop diplacusis for several particular reasons:
- An infection: Inflammation of your ear canal can be the consequence of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This inflammation is a normal immune response, but it can influence the way sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- Earwax: In some circumstances, an earwax blockage can interfere with your ability to hear. Whether that earwax forms a partial or complete obstruction, it can lead to diplacusis.
- Noise-induced damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud noises to damage your ears, it’s feasible that the same damage has brought about hearing loss, and as a result, diplacusis.
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare instances, be the result of a tumor in your ear canal. But stay calm! In most instances they’re benign. Nevertheless, it’s something you should speak with your hearing specialist about!
It’s clear that there are many of the same causes of diplacusis and hearing loss. Which means that if you have diplacusis, it’s a good bet something is interfering with your ability to hear. So you should absolutely come in and talk to us.
How is diplacusis treated?
The treatments for diplacusis vary based on the underlying cause. If you have an obstruction, treating your diplacusis will focus on clearing it out. But irreversible sensorineural hearing loss is more often the cause. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: The correct pair of hearing aids can equalize how your ears hear again. Your diplacusis symptoms will gradually fade when you take advantage of hearing aids. You’ll want to talk to us about finding the correct settings for your hearing aids.
- Cochlear implant: A cochlear implant may be the only way of dealing with diplacusis if the root cause is profound hearing loss.
All of this begins with a hearing exam. Here’s how you can think about it: a hearing assessment will be able to establish what type of hearing loss is at the source of your diplacusis (and, to be fair, you may not even recognize it as diplacusis, you might just think things sound weird these days). We have very sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be found.
Hearing clearly is more fun than not
You’ll be better able to enjoy your life when you get the appropriate treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s hearing aids or some other treatment. Talking with others will be easier. It will be easier to stay in tune with your family.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms interfering with your ability to hear your grandkids telling you all about the Diplodocus.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to get it checked, call today for an appointment.