Have you ever been in the middle of the road and your car breaks down? It’s not a fun situation. Your car has to be safely pulled to the side of the road. Then you probably open your hood and have a look at the engine. Who knows why?
Humorously, you still do this despite the fact that you have no understanding of engines. Perhaps whatever is wrong will be obvious. Inevitably, a tow truck will need to be called.
And a picture of the problem only becomes apparent when mechanics get a look at it. That’s because cars are complicated, there are so many moving pieces and computerized software that the symptoms (your car that won’t move) are not enough to tell you what’s wrong.
The same thing can occur at times with hearing loss. The symptom itself doesn’t automatically identify what the cause is. Sure, noise-related hearing loss is the typical culprit. But in some cases, it’s something else, something like auditory neuropathy.
What is auditory neuropathy?
When most individuals consider hearing loss, they think of loud concerts and jet engines, excessive noise that harms your hearing. This form of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss, and it’s a bit more involved than simple noise damage.
But in some cases, this type of long-term, noise related damage is not the cause of hearing loss. While it’s less prevalent, hearing loss can sometimes be caused by a condition known as auditory neuropathy. This is a hearing disorder where your ear and inner ear receive sounds perfectly fine, but for some reason, can’t fully convey those sounds to your brain.
Auditory neuropathy symptoms
The symptoms related to auditory neuropathy are, at first glance, not all that dissimilar from those symptoms associated with conventional hearing loss. You can’t hear very well in loud situations, you keep cranking up the volume on your television and other devices, that sort of thing. This can frequently make auditory neuropathy difficult to diagnose and treat.
uditory neuropathy, however, has some specific symptoms that make spotting it easier. These presentations are rather solid indicators that you aren’t dealing with sensorineural hearing loss, but with auditory neuropathy instead. Though, naturally, you’ll be better informed by an official diagnosis from us.
Here are some of the more unique symptoms of auditory neuropathy:
- Sound fades in and out: The volume of sound seems to rise and fall like somebody is messing with the volume knob. If you’re encountering these symptoms it could be a case of auditory neuropathy.
- Difficulty understanding speech: Sometimes, you can’t understand what somebody is saying even though the volume is normal. Words are unclear and unclear.
- Sounds seem jumbled or confused: Again, this isn’t a problem with volume. The volume of what you’re hearing is just fine, the problem is that the sounds seem jumbled and you can’t make sense of them. This can apply to all sorts of sounds, not just speech.
What causes auditory neuropathy?
The root causes of this disorder can, in part, be defined by the symptoms. It might not be completely clear why you have developed auditory neuropathy on a personal level. Both children and adults can develop this disorder. And there are a couple of well defined possible causes, generally speaking:
- Damage to the nerves: The hearing portion of your brain gets sound from a specific nerve in your ear. The sounds that the brain attempts to “interpret” will sound confused if there is damage to this nerve. When this happens, you might interpret sounds as garbled, indecipherable, or too quiet to differentiate.
- Damage to the cilia that transmit signals to the brain: If these little hairs inside of your inner ear become damaged in a particular way, the sound your ear senses can’t really be sent on to your brain, at least, not in its complete form.
Risk factors of auditory neuropathy
No one is quite sure why some individuals will experience auditory neuropathy while others might not. As a result, there isn’t a tried and true way to counter auditory neuropathy. Still, there are close associations which might indicate that you’re at a higher risk of experiencing this condition.
Bear in mind that even if you have all of these risk factors you still might or may not experience auditory neuropathy. But the more risk factors present, the higher your statistical probability of developing this disorder.
Risk factors for children
Here are some risk factors that will raise the likelihood of auditory neuropathy in children:
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- Preterm or premature birth
- Other neurological conditions
- A low birth weight
- A lack of oxygen during birth or before labor begins
- Liver conditions that result in jaundice (a yellow appearance to the skin)
Risk factors for adults
For adults, risk factors that increase your likelihood of developing auditory neuropathy include:
- Mumps and other specific infectious diseases
- Various kinds of immune disorders
- Certain medications (specifically incorrect use of medications that can cause hearing problems)
- Auditory neuropathy and other hearing conditions that are passed on genetically
Limiting the risks as much as possible is always a smart plan. If risk factors are there, it might be a good plan to schedule regular screenings with us.
Diagnosing auditory neuropathy
During a normal hearing test, you’ll likely be given a set of headphones and be asked to raise your hand when you hear a tone. That test won’t help very much with auditory neuropathy.
One of the following two tests will usually be used instead:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: The reaction of your inner ear and cochlea to stimuli will be tested with this diagnostic. A little microphone is placed just inside your ear canal. Then a series of tones and clicks will be played. The diagnostic device will then determine how well your inner ear reacts to those tones and clicks. If the inner ear is an issue, this data will expose it.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: During the course of this diagnostic test, you’ll have specialized electrodes attached to certain places on your scalp and head. Again, don’t be concerned, there’s nothing painful or unpleasant about this test. These electrodes put specific emphasis on tracking how your brainwaves respond to sound stimuli. Whether you’re dealing with sensorineural hearing loss (outer ear) or auditory neuropathy (inner ear) will be established by the quality of your brainwaves.
Once we do the appropriate tests, we will be able to more successfully diagnose and treat your auditory neuropathy.
Is there treatment for auditory neuropathy?
So, in the same way as you bring your car to the mechanic to get it fixed, you can bring your ears to us for treatment! auditory neuropathy generally has no cure. But there are several ways to manage this condition.
- Hearing aids: Even if you have auditory neuropathy, in moderate cases, hearing aids can amplify sound enough to enable you to hear better. For some individuals, hearing aids will work just fine! But because volume isn’t usually the issue, this isn’t typically the situation. Hearing aids are usually used in conjunction with other treatments because of this.
- Cochlear implant: For some people, hearing aids won’t be able to get around the issues. It might be necessary to go with cochlear implants in these situations. Signals from your inner ear are sent directly to your brain with this implant. The internet has plenty of videos of people having success with these amazing devices!
- Frequency modulation: Sometimes, it’s possible to hear better by increasing or lowering specific frequencies. With a technology known as frequency modulation, that’s exactly what occurs. This strategy often utilizes devices that are, basically, highly customized hearing aids.
- Communication skills training: Communication skills exercises can be combined with any combination of these treatments if necessary. This will help you communicate with the hearing you have and work around your symptoms instead of treating them.
It’s best to get treatment as soon as possible
As with any hearing condition, timely treatment can produce better outcomes.
So if you suspect you have auditory neuropathy, or even just ordinary hearing loss, it’s essential to get treatment as soon as possible. You’ll be able to go 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, particularly need to have their hearing treated as soon as possible.
