Have you ever been in the middle of the roadway and your car breaks down? It’s not a fun experience. You have to pull your car off the road. And then, for some reason, you probably open your hood and take a look at your engine.
What’s strange is that you do this even though you have no idea how engines work. Perhaps you think there’ll be a convenient knob you can turn or something. Eventually, you have to call someone to tow your car to a garage.
And it’s only when the experts get a look at things that you get an understanding of the problem. That’s because cars are complex, there are so many moving pieces and computerized software that the symptoms (your car that won’t start) aren’t enough to tell you what’s wrong.
With hearing loss, this same type of thing can occur. The symptom itself doesn’t necessarily reveal what the cause is. There’s the common culprit (noise-related hearing loss), sure. But sometimes, it’s something else, something such as auditory neuropathy.
What is auditory neuropathy?
Most individuals think of really loud noise such as a rock concert or a jet engine when they consider hearing loss. This form of hearing loss, called sensorineural hearing loss is a bit more complex than that, but you get the point.
But in some cases, long-term hearing loss can be the result of something other than noise damage. A condition known as auditory neuropathy, while less prevalent, can in some cases be the cause. This is a hearing disorder in which your ear and inner ear receive sounds perfectly fine, but for some reason, can’t fully transfer those sounds to your brain.
Auditory neuropathy symptoms
The symptoms related to auditory neuropathy are, at first look, not all that distinct from those symptoms associated with conventional hearing loss. Things like turning the volume up on your devices and not being capable of hearing very well in loud settings. This can sometimes make auditory neuropathy difficult to diagnose and treat.
Auditory neuropathy, however, has some specific symptoms that make recognizing it easier. When hearing loss symptoms manifest in this way, you can be fairly certain that it’s not normal noise related hearing loss. Though, naturally, you’ll be better informed by an official diagnosis from us.
Here are some of the more unique symptoms of auditory neuropathy:
- Difficulty understanding speech: Sometimes, the volume of a word is normal, but you just can’t understand what’s being said. Words are unclear and muddled sounding.
- Sound fades in and out: The volume of sound seems to go up and down like someone is playing with the volume knob. If you’re experiencing these symptoms it may be a case of auditory neuropathy.
- Sounds sound jumbled or confused: This is, once again, not an issue with volume. The volume of what you’re hearing is just fine, the issue is that the sounds seem jumbled and you can’t make sense of them. This can pertain to all sorts of sounds, not just speech.
Some causes of auditory neuropathy
These symptoms can be explained, in part, by the underlying causes behind this specific disorder. On an individual level, the reasons why you might develop auditory neuropathy may not be entirely clear. Both adults and children can experience this disorder. And, broadly speaking, there are a couple of well defined possible causes:
- Nerve damage: There’s a nerve that transmits sound signals from your inner ear to the hearing center of your brain. The sounds that the brain tries to “interpret” will sound confused if there is damage to this nerve. Sounds might seem jumbled or too quiet to hear when this occurs.
- Damage to the cilia that transmit signals to the brain: Sound can’t be passed to your brain in complete form once these little fragile hairs have been compromised in a specific way.
Risk factors of auditory neuropathy
Some people will experience auditory neuropathy while others won’t and no one is really sure why. That’s why there’s no exact science to combating it. But you may be at a higher risk of developing auditory neuropathy if you show particular close connections.
It should be mentioned that these risk factors are not guarantees, you may have all of these risk factors and not develop auditory neuropathy. But you’re more statistically likely to experience auditory neuropathy the more risk factors you have.
Risk factors for children
Factors that can increase the risk of auditory neuropathy for children include the following:
- Other neurological disorders
- Preterm or premature birth
- A lack of oxygen during birth or before labor begins
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- Liver conditions that result in jaundice (a yellow look to the skin)
- A low birth weight
Risk factors for adults
For adults, risk factors that raise your likelihood of experiencing auditory neuropathy include:
- auditory neuropathy and other hearing conditions that are passed on genetically
- Overuse of medications that cause hearing issues
- Immune diseases of various types
- Certain infectious diseases, such as mumps
Generally, it’s a smart plan to minimize these risks as much as you can. If risk factors are present, it may be a good plan to schedule regular screenings with us.
How is auditory neuropathy diagnosed?
During a typical hearing examination, you’ll most likely be given a pair of headphones and be asked to raise your hand when you hear a tone. When you’re dealing with auditory neuropathy, that test will be of very limited use.
One of the following two tests will normally be done instead:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: This diagnostic is designed to determine how well your inner ear and cochlea respond to sound stimuli. A little microphone is put just inside your ear canal. Then, we will play a series of tones and clicks. The diagnostic device will then evaluate how well your inner ear responds to those tones and clicks. If the inner ear is a problem, this data will expose it.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: During this diagnostic test, you’ll have specialized electrodes attached to specific spots on your scalp and head. Again, don’t worry, there’s nothing painful or unpleasant about this test. These electrodes place specific focus on tracking how your brainwaves respond to sound stimuli. Whether you’re experiencing sensorineural hearing loss (outer ear) or auditory neuropathy (inner ear) will be established by the quality of your brainwaves.
Once we run the appropriate tests, we will be able to more successfully diagnose and treat your auditory neuropathy.
Is there treatment for auditory neuropathy?
So you can bring your ears to us for treatment in the same way that you take your car to the mechanic to have it fixed. auditory neuropathy generally has no cure. But this condition can be treated in a few possible ways.
- Hearing aids: Even with auditory neuropathy, in moderate cases, hearing aids can amplify sound enough to enable you to hear better. For some people, hearing aids will work perfectly fine! Having said that, this is not usually the case, because, again, volume is virtually never the problem. Hearing aids are often used in conjunction with other treatments because of this.
- Cochlear implant: Hearing aids won’t be capable of solving the issue for most individuals. In these situations, a cochlear implant could be required. Signals from your inner ear are conveyed directly to your brain with this implant. The internet has lots of videos of individuals having success with these amazing devices!
- Frequency modulation: In some cases, it’s possible to hear better by boosting or lowering specific frequencies. With a technology called frequency modulation, that’s precisely what occurs. Essentially, highly customized hearing aids are used in this approach.
- Communication skills training: Communication skills exercises can be put together with any combination of these treatments if necessary. This will help you communicate using the hearing you have and work around your symptoms instead of treating them.
The sooner you get treatment, the better
As with any hearing disorder, prompt treatment can lead to better outcomes.
So if you think you have auditory neuropathy, or even just ordinary hearing loss, it’s important to get treatment as quickly as you can. You’ll be able to get back to hearing better and enjoying your life after you make an appointment and get treated. Children, who experience a lot of cognitive growth and development, especially need to have their hearing treated as soon as possible.
