The world was extremely different millions of years ago. This steamy, volcano-laden landscape is where the long-necked Diplacusis roamed. 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 known as Diplodocus. When you’re hearing two sounds simultaneously, that’s a hearing condition known as diplacusis.
Diplacusis is a condition which can be challenging and confusing leading to difficulty communicating.
Maybe you’ve been hearing some strange things
Usually, we regard hearing loss as our hearing becoming muted or quiet over time. Over time, the story goes, we simply hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well known, types of hearing loss. Diplacusis is one of the stranger, and also more frustrating, of these hearing conditions.
Diplacusis, what is it?
Exactly what is diplacusis? Diplacusis is a medical name that means, pretty simply, “double hearing”. Typically, your brain will combine the sound from your right and left ear into one sound. That’s what you hear. Your eyes are doing the same thing. You will see slightly different images if you cover each eye one at a time. Your ears are the same, it’s just that usually, you never notice it.
Diplacusis occurs when the hearing abilities of your ears differ so wildly that your brain can no longer merge them, at least not very well. You can develop diplacusis due to hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Two forms of diplacusis
Different people are affected in different ways by diplacuses. However, there are typically two basic types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis echoica: This happens when the pitch is mostly the same from ear to ear, but because of your hearing loss, the timing is all wonky. This might cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound similar to echoes). This can also cause challenges with regard to understanding speech.
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This type 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 somebody speaks with you. One side might sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. Those sounds can be hard to understand consequently.
Symptoms of diplacusis
The symptoms of diplacusis can include:
- Hearing that sounds off (in pitch).
- Hearing that seems off (in timing).
- Phantom echoes
That said, it’s helpful to view diplacusis as akin to double vision: Yes, it can produce some symptoms on its own, but it’s normally itself a symptom of something else. (It’s the effect, essentially, not the cause.) In these cases, diplacusis is almost always a symptom of hearing loss (either in one ear or in both ears). So your best strategy would be to make an appointment with us for a hearing exam.
What causes diplacusis?
In a very basic sense (and perhaps not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis align quite well with the causes of hearing loss. But you could develop diplacusis for a number of particular reasons:
- Your ears have damage caused by noise: If you’ve experienced enough loud sounds to damage your hearing, it’s feasible that the same damage has resulted in hearing loss, and as a result, diplacusis.
- An infection: Ear infections, sinus infections, or even normal allergies can cause your ear canal to swell. This swelling, while a normal response, can effect the way sound travels through your inner ear and to your brain.
- Earwax: In some instances, an earwax blockage can hinder your hearing. That earwax obstruction can trigger diplacusis.
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare situations, be the result of a tumor inside of your ear canal. But remain calm! In most cases they’re benign. Still, it’s something you should talk to your hearing specialist about!
It’s obvious that there are a number of the same causes of diplacusis and hearing loss. Which means that if you’re experiencing diplacusis, it’s likely that something is impeding your ability to hear. So you should absolutely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
Depending on the main cause, there are several possible treatments. If you have an obstruction, treating your diplacusis will center around clearing it out. However, diplacusis is often caused by irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be neutralized with the correct pair of hearing aids. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will likely fade. You’ll want to speak with us about finding the right settings for your hearing aids.
- Cochlear implant: A cochlear implant may be the only way of managing diplacusis if the root cause is profound hearing loss.
A hearing test is the first step to getting it all figured out. Here’s how you can think about it: a hearing assessment will be able to identify what kind of hearing loss is at the source of your diplacusis (maybe you simply think things sound weird at this point and you don’t even identify it as diplacusis). We have really sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be found.
Hearing well is more fun than not
You’ll be better able to enjoy your life when you get the correct treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s hearing aids or something else. Conversations will be easier. It will be easier to stay in tune with your family.
Which means, you’ll be able to hear your grandchildren tell you all about what a Diplodocus is, and you (hopefully) won’t have any diplacusis to impede you.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to get it checked, call today for an appointment.