The world was rather different millions of years ago. The long-necked Diplacusis wandered this volcano-laden landscape. 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. Diplacusis is a hearing condition that causes you to hear two sounds instead of one.
Diplacusis is a condition which can be challenging and confusing causing difficulty with communication.
Perhaps you’ve been hearing some strange things
We’re accustomed to thinking of hearing loss as a kind of gradual decreasing of the volume knob. According to this notion, over time, we simply hear less and less. But there are some other, not so well known, forms of hearing loss. Diplacusis is one of the weirder, and also more frustrating, of these hearing problems.
Diplacusis, what is it?
Exactly what is diplacusis? The meaning of the medical term diplacusis is basically “double hearing”. Typically, your brain will mix the sound from your right and left ear into one sound. This blended sound is what you hear. The same thing happens with your eyes. If you put a hand over your right eye and then a hand on your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
When your brain can’t efficiently 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 caused by hearing loss in both.
Diplacusis comes in two types
Different people are affected differently by diplacuses. Usually, though, individuals will experience one of the following two forms of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear are off it’s an indicator of this form of diplacusis. So when your grandchildren talk to you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. One side may sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. Those sounds can be hard to understand consequently.
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will seem off because your brain receives the sound from each ear out of sync with the other rather than hearing two different pitches. This may cause echoes (or, instead, artifacts that sound like echoes). And understanding speech can become difficult because of this.
Symptoms of diplacusis
The symptoms of diplacusis could include:
- Hearing that sounds off (in timing).
- Off pitch hearing
- Hearing echoes where they don’t actually exist.
Having said that, it’s useful to think of diplacusis as similar to double vision: It’s normally a symptom of something else, but it can produce some of its own symptoms. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these cases, is probably a symptom of hearing loss. So your best strategy would be to Schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test.
What causes diplacusis?
In a very general sense (and maybe not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis align quite nicely with the causes of hearing loss. But you may develop diplacusis for a number of specific reasons:
- Earwax: Your hearing can be affected by an earwax obstruction. Whether that earwax causes a partial or complete blockage, it can cause diplacusis.
- An infection: Inflammation of your ear canal can be the outcome of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This swelling, while a natural response, can impact the way sound moves through your inner ear and to your brain.
- Your ears have damage related to noise: If you’ve experienced enough loud sounds to damage your hearing, it’s possible that the same damage has led to hearing loss, and consequently, diplacusis.
- A tumor: In some very rare situations, tumors in your ear canal can result in diplacusis. Don’t panic! In most instances they’re benign. Nevertheless, 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. Which means that if you’re experiencing diplacusis, it’s likely that something is interfering with your ability to hear. So you should definitely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
Depending on the main cause, there are a few possible treatments. If your condition is caused by an obstruction, like earwax, then treatment will focus on the removal of that blockage. However, diplacusis is often due to irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be neutralized with the correct set of hearing aids. Your diplacusis symptoms will gradually fade when you take advantage of hearing aids. It’s important to get the correct settings on your hearing aids and you’ll want to have us assist you with that.
- Cochlear implant: A cochlear implant may be the only way of managing diplacusis if the root cause is profound hearing loss.
All of this begins with a hearing test. Here’s how you can think about it: a hearing assessment will be able to determine what kind of hearing loss is at the source of your diplacusis (perhaps you just think things sound weird at this point and you don’t even identify it as diplacusis). Modern hearing tests are quite sensitive, and good at finding discrepancies between how your ears hear the world.
Hearing clearly is more fun than not
Getting the proper treatment for your diplacusis, whether that’s a hearing aid or something else, means you’ll be more able to participate in your daily life. Conversations will be easier. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms interfering with your ability to hear your grandkids telling you all about the Diplodocus.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to have it checked, call today for an appointment.
