Millions of years ago, the world was much different. This steamy, volcano-laden landscape is where the long-necked Diplacusis roamed. Thanks to its really long neck and tail, Diplacusis was so large that it feared no predator.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. When you’re hearing two sounds at the same time, that’s a hearing condition called diplacusis.
Diplacusis is an affliction which can be challenging and confusing causing difficulty communicating.
Perhaps you’ve been hearing some odd things
We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as a sort of progressive lowering of the volume knob. According to this notion, over time, we simply hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well recognized, types of hearing loss. One of the most interesting (or, perhaps, frustrating) such manifestations is a condition called diplacusis.
What is diplacusis?
So, what’s diplacusis? The meaning of the medical term diplacusis is simply “double hearing”. Typically, your brain gets information from the right ear and information from the left ear and marries them harmoniously into one sound. This blended sound is what you hear. The same thing occurs with your eyes. You will see slightly different images if you cover each eye one at a time. Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
Diplacusis happens when the hearing abilities of your ears differ so significantly that your brain can no longer combine them, at least not very well. You can develop diplacusis as a result of hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Two kinds of diplacusis
Diplacusis doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. Usually, though, individuals will experience one of the following two forms 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 different pitches. This may cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound similar to echoes). And understanding speech can become challenging because of this.
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear are off it’s an indication of this form of diplacusis. So when your grandchildren speak with you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. Maybe your right ear thinks the sound is low-pitched and your left ear hears the sound as high-pitched. Those sounds can be difficult to understand as a result.
Diplicusis symptoms
Here are some symptoms of diplacusis:
- Hearing that sounds off (in pitch).
- Phantom echoes
- Off timing hearing
The condition of double vision might be a helpful comparison: Yes, it can produce some symptoms on its own, but it’s normally itself a symptom of something else. (In other words, it’s the effect, not the cause.) In these cases, diplacusis is almost always a symptom of hearing loss (either in one ear or in both ears). As a result, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist.
What causes diplacusis?
In a very general sense (and perhaps not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis align rather well with the causes of hearing loss. But there are a few particular reasons why you could develop diplacusis:
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud sounds to damage your ears, it’s feasible that the same damage has led to hearing loss, and as a result, diplacusis.
- Earwax: In some cases, an earwax blockage can hinder your hearing. That earwax obstruction can lead to diplacusis.
- An infection: Ear infections, sinus infections, or even just plain old allergies can cause your ear canal to become inflamed. This inflammation is a common immune response, but it can impact how sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- A tumor: In some extremely rare instances, tumors in your ear canal can cause diplacusis. Don’t panic! They’re usually benign. Still, it’s something you should speak with your hearing specialist about!
As you can see, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same common causes. Meaning that you probably have some level of hearing loss if you have diplacusis. So you should definitely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the underlying cause. If your condition is related to a blockage, such as earwax, then treatment will concentrate on the removal of that obstruction. However, diplacusis is often brought on by irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. In these situations, the best treatment options include:
- Hearing aids: The correct pair of hearing aids can equalize how your ears hear again. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will likely disappear. You’ll want to talk to us about getting 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: whatever kind of hearing loss is the cause of your diplacusis, a hearing test will be able to determine that (maybe you just think things sound weird at this point and you don’t even identify it as diplacusis). Modern hearing assessments are very sensitive, and good at detecting inconsistencies between how your ears hear the world.
Life is more fun when you can hear clearly
Getting the proper treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or some other treatment option, means you’ll be more able to participate in your daily life. Conversations will be easier. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
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 get in the way.
Call today for an appointment to get your diplacusis symptoms checked.