Millions of years ago, the world was much different. This steamy, volcano-laden landscape is where the long-necked Diplacusis wandered. Thanks to its extra 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.
Diplacusis is an affliction which can be frustrating and confusing leading to difficulty with communication.
Perhaps your hearing has been a little weird lately
We’re accustomed 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 in some cases, hearing loss can manifest in some peculiar ways. One of the most interesting (or, possibly, frustrating) such manifestations is a condition called diplacusis.
Diplacusis, what is it?
Exactly what is diplacusis? Diplacusis is a medical term that means, basically, “double hearing”. Typically, your brain gets information from the right ear and information 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 put a hand on 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.
When your brain can’t effectively merge the two sounds from your ears because they are too different, you have this condition of diplacusis. Monaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in only one ear while binaural diplacusis is due to hearing loss in both.
Two types of diplacusis
Diplacusis doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. However, there are typically two basic types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This form of diplacusis occurs when the pitch of the right ear and the pitch of the left ear seem off. So when your grandkids speak with you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. One side may sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. This can cause those sounds to be difficult to make out.
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will sound off because your brain gets the sound from each ear out of sync with the other instead of hearing two different pitches. This could cause echoes (or, instead, artifacts that sound like echoes). And understanding speech can become complicated as a result.
Diplicusis symptoms
The symptoms of diplacusis can include:
- Hearing that seems off (in pitch).
- Hearing echoes where they don’t actually exist.
- Off timing hearing
Having said that, it’s helpful to view diplacusis as akin to double vision: It’s normally a symptom of something else, but it can produce some of its own symptoms. (In other words, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these circumstances, is probably a symptom of hearing loss. As a result, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably make an appointment with a hearing specialist.
What causes diplacusis?
The causes of diplacusis line up rather well, in a general sense, with the causes of hearing loss. But there are some particular reasons why you may develop diplacusis:
- An infection: Swelling of your ear canal can be the consequence of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This inflammation, while a standard response, can impact the way sound travels through your inner ear and to your brain.
- Earwax: Your ability to hear can be impacted by an earwax obstruction. That earwax blockage can cause diplacusis.
- Noise-induced damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced hearing loss caused by noise damage, it’s feasible that it could cause diplacusis.
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare situations, be the result of a tumor inside of your ear canal. Don’t panic! They’re normally benign. But you still should talk to us about it.
As you can see, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same typical causes. Which means that if you have diplacusis, it’s a good bet something is impeding your ability to hear. So you should absolutely come in and talk to us.
How is diplacusis treated?
Depending on the root cause, there are several possible treatments. If you have a blockage, treating your diplacusis will focus on clearing it out. But irreversible sensorineural hearing loss is more frequently the cause. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: The right set of hearing aids can neutralize how your ears hear again. Your diplacusis symptoms will gradually fade when you take advantage of hearing aids. It’s essential to get the proper settings on your hearing aids and you’ll want to have us help you with that.
- 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. Think about it this way: a hearing exam will be able to identify what kind of hearing loss is at the root of your diplacusis (and, to be fair, you might not even recognize it as diplacusis, you might just think things sound weird these days). We have really sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be detected.
Hearing clearly is more fun than not
Getting the appropriate 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 grandkids tell you all about what a Diplodocus is, and you (hopefully) won’t have any diplacusis to get in the way.
If you think you have diplacusis and want to have it checked, call today for an appointment.