The world was rather different millions of years ago. This steamy, volcano-laden landscape is where the long-necked Diplacusis wandered. Thanks to its extra long neck and tail, Diplacusis was so large that it was afraid of no predator.
Actually, the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period is called Diplodocus. When you’re hearing two sounds at the same time, that’s a hearing condition known as diplacusis.
While it’s not a “horrible lizard,” in many ways diplacusis can be a terror on its own, leading to a hearing experience that feels bewildering and out of sorts (often making communication challenging or impossible).
Perhaps your hearing has been a bit strange lately
We’re accustomed to thinking of hearing loss as a sort of progressive lowering of the volume knob. Over time, the idea is, we simply hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well known, forms 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, basically, “double hearing”. Normally, your brain takes information from the right ear and information from the left ear and combines them harmoniously 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. It’s the same with your ears, it’s just that typically, you never notice it.
Diplacusis occurs when the hearing abilities of your ears vary so significantly that your brain can no longer blend them, at least not well. You can develop diplacusis because of the hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Diplacusis comes in two kinds
Diplacusis does not impact everybody in the same way. However, there are typically two basic types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear don’t match it’s an indicator of this type of diplacusis. So when your grandchildren talk to you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. One side might sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. Those sounds can be hard to understand as a result.
- Diplacusis echoica: This occurs when the pitch is mostly the same from ear to ear, but because of your hearing loss, the timing is out of whack. This might cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound similar to echoes). This can also cause difficulty in terms of understanding speech.
Diplacusis symptoms
The symptoms of diplacusis can include:
- Hearing that seems off (in timing).
- Off pitch hearing
- Hearing echoes where they don’t actually exist.
The condition of double vision could be a helpful comparison: It’s normally a symptom of something else, but it can create some of its own symptoms. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) In these cases, 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?
In a very general sense (and perhaps not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis line up rather nicely with the causes of hearing loss. But you may develop diplacusis for a number of specific reasons:
- Earwax: In some instances, an earwax blockage can interfere with your hearing. Whether that earwax forms a partial or complete obstruction, it can cause diplacusis.
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced hearing loss due to noise damage, it’s possible that it could cause diplacusis.
- An infection: Inflammation of your ear canal can be the result of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This swelling is a normal immune response, but it can influence how sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare situations, be the result of a tumor in your ear canal. Don’t panic! In most cases they’re benign. But you still should talk to us about it.
Obviously, diplacusis and hearing loss have many of the same common causes. Meaning that you most likely have some degree of hearing loss if you have diplacusis. Which means it’s a good idea to visit a hearing specialist.
Treatments for diplacusis
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the underlying cause. If your condition is the result of a blockage, like earwax, then treatment will focus on the removal of that obstruction. However, diplacusis is frequently brought on by irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. In these cases, the best treatment options include:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be equalized with the right pair of hearing aids. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will likely fade. It’s important to get the right settings on your hearing aids and you’ll want to have us help you with that.
- Cochlear implant: In circumstances 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 test is the first step to getting to the bottom of the problem. Think about it like this: whatever type of hearing loss is the cause of your diplacusis, a hearing test will be able to identify that (and, to be fair, you may not even recognize it as diplacusis, you may just think stuff sounds weird these days). We have extremely 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
You’ll be better able to enjoy your life when you get the correct treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s hearing aids or some other treatment. 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 have your diplacusis symptoms assessed.
