Millions of years ago, the world was much different. The long-necked Diplacusis roamed this volcano-laden landscape. Thanks to its really long neck and tail, Diplacusis was so big that it was afraid of no predator.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. Diplacusis is a hearing condition that causes you to hear two sounds at the same time.
While it’s not a “terrible lizard,” in many ways diplacusis can be a menace on its own, leading to a hearing experience that feels confusing and out of sorts (frequently making communication challenging or impossible).
Maybe you’ve been hearing some strange things
Usually, we regard hearing loss as our hearing becoming muted or quiet over time. Over time, the story goes, we simply hear less and less. But sometimes, hearing loss can manifest in some unusual ways. Diplacusis is one of the stranger, and also more frustrating, of these hearing problems.
Diplacusis, what is it?
Exactly what is diplacusis? The meaning of the medical term diplacusis is simply “double hearing”. Typically, your brain will combine the sound from your right and left ear into one sound. That’s what you hear. The same thing happens with your eyes. If you place a hand on your right eye and then a hand over your left eye, you see slightly different images, right? Usually, with your ears, you don’t even notice it.
Diplacusis happens when the hearing abilities of your ears vary so significantly that your brain can no longer combine them, at least not well. You can experience diplacusis due to hearing loss in one ear (called monaural diplacusis) or both ears (binaural diplacusis).
Diplacusis comes in two forms
Diplacusis does not affect everybody in the same way. Normally, though, individuals will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis echoica: With this, what you hear will sound off because your brain gets the sound from each ear out of sync with the other instead of hearing two different pitches. This could cause echoes (or, rather, artifacts that sound similar to echoes). This can also cause challenges when it comes to understanding speech.
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: This kind of diplacusis occurs when the pitch of the right ear and the pitch of the left ear seem off. So when your grandchildren speak with you, the pitch of their voice will sound distorted. Maybe your right ear thinks the sound is low-pitched and your left ear hears the sound as high-pitched. Those sounds can be hard to understand consequently.
Diplacusis symptoms
The symptoms of diplacusis can include:
- Off timing hearing
- Phantom echoes
- Off pitch hearing
The condition of double vision may be a useful comparison: Yes, it can produce some symptoms on its own, but it’s normally itself a symptom of something else. (Essentially, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these cases, is most likely a symptom of hearing loss. As a result, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist.
What are the causes diplacusis?
In a very basic sense (and perhaps not surprisingly), the causes of diplacusis line up rather well with the causes of hearing loss. But you may experience diplacusis for numerous particular reasons:
- An infection: Ear infections, sinus infections, or even normal allergies can cause your ear canal to become inflamed. This swelling is a typical immune reaction, but it can impact how sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- Earwax: In some instances, an earwax blockage can hinder your hearing. Whether that earwax forms a partial or full blockage, it can cause diplacusis.
- Your ears have damage related to noise: If you’ve experienced hearing loss caused by noise damage, it’s feasible that it could cause diplacusis.
- A tumor: Diplacusis can, in rare instances, be the result of a tumor inside of your ear canal. But stay calm! In most cases they’re benign. Still, it’s something you should talk to your hearing specialist about!
It’s obvious that there are a number of the same causes of hearing loss and diplacusis. Meaning that you likely have some amount of hearing loss if you have diplacusis. So you should definitely come in and talk to us.
Treatments for diplacusis
The treatments for diplacusis differ based on the root cause. If your condition is the result of an obstruction, like earwax, then treatment will focus on the removal of that blockage. But irreversible sensorineural hearing loss is more frequently the cause. Here are some treatment options if that’s the situation:
- Hearing aids: Your hearing can be equalized with the right pair of hearing aids. This means that the symptoms of diplacusis will most likely disappear. You’ll want to talk to us about getting the correct settings for your hearing aids.
- 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 source of your diplacusis, a hearing exam will be able to determine that (maybe you just think things sound strange at this point and you don’t even identify it as diplacusis). We have extremely sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any discrepancies with how your ears are hearing the world will be found.
Hearing well 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. It will be easier to talk to people. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
So there will be no diplacusis symptoms getting in the way of your ability to hear your grandchildren telling you all about the Diplodocus.
Call today for an appointment to have your diplacusis symptoms assessed.