Hyperacusis :: Term Papers Research

Hyperacusis Hyperacusis is used to describe a high level of sensitivity to sound. It is also known as dysacusis, oxylacusis, hypersensitive hearing, or phonophobia. Persons with hyperacusis do not show abnormalloudness growth but an abnormal discomfort for suprathreshold sound (Barnes & Marriage, 1995). Audiograms for hyperacusis sufferers are typically normal. They show normal sound thresholds but the sensitivity level is above normal. The comfort level for most people is below 100 decibels. People with hyperacusis can experience discomfort at 40 to 50 decibels or lower (Schwade, 1995). The disorder may be frequency-specific (Schwade, 1995). Not all sounds of the same loudness (number of decibels) cause discomfort, but only sounds within a certain range, thus a small change of frequency may cause discomfort at low volume. The prevalence rate of hyperacusis is unknown. It frequently occurs with tinnitus, which afflicts approximately 40 million poeple in the United States (Hazell & Jastreboff, 1933). A questionnaire in a clinic population by Sanchez and Stephens (1997) found that eight percent of tinnitus sufferers have hyperacusis. These two studies would suggest about 3 million people in the United States have hyperacusis. Further a survey conducted by the Autism Research Institute found up to 40% of children with autism to be affected by hyperacusis. Hyperacusis also has an occurence rate of 95% in children with Williams syndrome (Borse, Curfs, & Fryns, 1997). These facts plus its comorbidity with many other diseases leads one to believe hyperacusis is not an extremely rare disease. Hyperacusis is a poorly understood disorder resulting in many theories of etiology and prognosis. Hyperacusis can occur alone or in conjunction with other disorders. A sudden single burst of noise (Schwade, 1995), a head injury (American Speech-Language Hearing Association, 1995), or surgery to the face or jaw (Barnes & Marriage, 1995) can result in hyperacusis. Barnes and Marriage also proposed two types of hyperacusis, peripheral and central. Peripheral hyperacusis is when the earÕs built in mechanism against loud or sharp sound seems to have been turned off. Absence of acoustic reflexes, positive history of vestibular disorders, MeniereÕs disease, or perilymph fistula account for peripheral hyperacusis. Hyperacusis co-occurring with BellÕs palsy, Ramsey Hunt syndrome, and myasthenia gravis is also considered to be peripheral hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is also an otological complication of herpes zoster (Adour, 1994) and craniomandibular disorders (Erlander and Rubinstein, 1991). Barnes and Marriage (1995) proposed another type of hyperacusis called central hyperacusis. Central hyperacusis results in an inability to tolerate specific but not necessarily loud sounds. Hyperacusis :: Term Papers Research Hyperacusis Hyperacusis is used to describe a high level of sensitivity to sound. It is also known as dysacusis, oxylacusis, hypersensitive hearing, or phonophobia. Persons with hyperacusis do not show abnormalloudness growth but an abnormal discomfort for suprathreshold sound (Barnes & Marriage, 1995). Audiograms for hyperacusis sufferers are typically normal. They show normal sound thresholds but the sensitivity level is above normal. The comfort level for most people is below 100 decibels. People with hyperacusis can experience discomfort at 40 to 50 decibels or lower (Schwade, 1995). The disorder may be frequency-specific (Schwade, 1995). Not all sounds of the same loudness (number of decibels) cause discomfort, but only sounds within a certain range, thus a small change of frequency may cause discomfort at low volume. The prevalence rate of hyperacusis is unknown. It frequently occurs with tinnitus, which afflicts approximately 40 million poeple in the United States (Hazell & Jastreboff, 1933). A questionnaire in a clinic population by Sanchez and Stephens (1997) found that eight percent of tinnitus sufferers have hyperacusis. These two studies would suggest about 3 million people in the United States have hyperacusis. Further a survey conducted by the Autism Research Institute found up to 40% of children with autism to be affected by hyperacusis. Hyperacusis also has an occurence rate of 95% in children with Williams syndrome (Borse, Curfs, & Fryns, 1997). These facts plus its comorbidity with many other diseases leads one to believe hyperacusis is not an extremely rare disease. Hyperacusis is a poorly understood disorder resulting in many theories of etiology and prognosis. Hyperacusis can occur alone or in conjunction with other disorders. A sudden single burst of noise (Schwade, 1995), a head injury (American Speech-Language Hearing Association, 1995), or surgery to the face or jaw (Barnes & Marriage, 1995) can result in hyperacusis. Barnes and Marriage also proposed two types of hyperacusis, peripheral and central. Peripheral hyperacusis is when the earÕs built in mechanism against loud or sharp sound seems to have been turned off. Absence of acoustic reflexes, positive history of vestibular disorders, MeniereÕs disease, or perilymph fistula account for peripheral hyperacusis. Hyperacusis co-occurring with BellÕs palsy, Ramsey Hunt syndrome, and myasthenia gravis is also considered to be peripheral hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is also an otological complication of herpes zoster (Adour, 1994) and craniomandibular disorders (Erlander and Rubinstein, 1991). Barnes and Marriage (1995) proposed another type of hyperacusis called central hyperacusis. Central hyperacusis results in an inability to tolerate specific but not necessarily loud sounds.