The world was very different millions of years ago. The long-necked Diplacusis roamed this volcano-laden landscape. Diplacusis was so big, thanks to its long tail and neck, that no other predators were a threat.
Actually, the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period is called Diplodocus. Diplacusis is a hearing affliction that causes you to hear two sounds at the same time.
Diplacusis is a condition which can be challenging and confusing leading to difficulty communicating.
Perhaps your hearing has been a little weird lately
Typically, we regard hearing loss as our hearing getting muted or quiet over time. Over time, the idea is, we just hear less and less. But in some cases, hearing loss can manifest in some unusual ways. One of the most interesting (or, perhaps, frustrating) such presentations is a condition called diplacusis.
Diplacusis, what is it?
Exactly what is diplacusis? Diplacusis is a medical name that means, basically, “double hearing”. Typically, your brain takes information from the right ear and information from the left ear and marries them harmoniously into one sound. That’s what you hear. Your eyes are doing the same thing. If you place a hand on your right eye and then a hand over your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
When your brain can’t efficiently integrate the two sounds from your ears because they are too different, you have this condition of diplacusis. Monaural diplacusis is a result of hearing loss in only one ear while binaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in both.
Diplacusis comes in two kinds
Diplacusis does not impact everybody in the same way. However, there are usually two basic forms of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This kind 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 the sound will be distorted when someone speaks with you. One side might sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. This can cause those sounds to be hard to understand.
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will sound off because your brain receives the sound from each ear out of sync with the other instead of hearing two different pitches. This may cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound similar to echoes). This can also cause difficulty when it comes to understanding speech.
Diplacusis symptoms
The symptoms of diplacusis could include:
- Off pitch hearing
- Off timing hearing
- Phantom echoes
The condition of double vision may be a helpful comparison: It’s normally a symptom of something else, but it can produce some of its own symptoms. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) In these circumstances, diplacusis is nearly always a symptom of hearing loss (either in one ear or in both ears). So your best strategy would be to Schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test.
What are the causes diplacusis?
The causes of diplacusis line up very well, in a general way, with the causes of hearing loss. But you may experience diplacusis for numerous particular reasons:
- An infection: Swelling of your ear canal can be the result of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This swelling, while a typical response, can impact the way sound moves through your inner ear and to your brain.
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud noises to damage your hearing, it’s possible that the same damage has brought about hearing loss, and as a result, diplacusis.
- Earwax: In some cases, an earwax obstruction can hinder your hearing. That earwax obstruction can lead to diplacusis.
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare situations, be caused by a tumor inside of your ear canal. But stay calm! In most instances they’re benign. But you should still talk to us about it.
As you can see, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same typical causes. Meaning that you most likely have some degree of hearing loss if you have diplacusis. So you should absolutely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the root cause. If you have an obstruction, treating your diplacusis will focus on clearing it out. But permanent sensorineural hearing loss is more frequently the cause. Here are a few treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: The correct pair of hearing aids can neutralize how your ears hear again. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will most likely fade. You’ll want to speak with us about getting the right settings for your hearing aids.
- Cochlear implant: In cases where the hearing loss at the root of diplacusis is profound, a cochlear implant may be the only way to provide relief from the symptoms.
A hearing exam is the first step to getting to the bottom of the problem. Here’s how you can think about it: whatever kind of hearing loss is the source of your diplacusis, a hearing exam will be able to determine that (and, to be fair, you might not even recognize it as diplacusis, you may just think things sound weird these days). We have extremely sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be detected.
Life is more fun when you can hear well
Getting the right treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or something else, means you’ll be more able to participate in your daily life. It will be easier to talk to people. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms interfering with your ability to hear your grandchildren telling you all about the Diplodocus.
Call today for an appointment to get your diplacusis symptoms checked.
