Millions of years ago, the world was a lot different. The long-necked Diplacusis wandered this volcano-laden landscape. Diplacusis was so large, thanks to its long tail and neck, that no other predators were a threat.
Actually, Diplodocus is the long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. When you’re hearing two sounds at the same time, that’s a hearing condition called diplacusis.
While it’s not a “horrible lizard,” in many ways diplacusis can be a menace on its own, causing a hearing experience that feels bewildering and out of sorts (frequently making communication difficult or impossible).
Perhaps your hearing has been a bit strange lately
Usually, we think of hearing loss as our hearing getting muted or quiet over time. Over time, the idea is, we just 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 conditions.
What is diplacusis?
So, what is diplacusis? Diplacusis is a medical name that means, basically, “double hearing”. Usually, your brain will blend the sound from your right and left ear into a single 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. Your ears are the same, it’s just that usually, you don’t notice it.
Diplacusis occurs when the hearing abilities of your ears differ so significantly that your brain can no longer combine them, at least not well. Monaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in only one ear while binaural diplacusis is caused by hearing loss in both.
Two types of diplacusis
Different individuals are impacted in different ways by diplacuses. Normally, though, people will experience one of the following two types of diplacusis:
- Diplacusis dysharmonica: When the pitch of the right and left ear don’t match it’s a sign of this form of diplacusis. So the sound will be distorted when somebody talks to you. One side might sound high-pitched and the other low-pitched. This can make those sounds hard to understand.
- Diplacusis echoica: This happens when the pitch is nearly the same from ear to ear, but because of your hearing loss, the timing is all wonky. Artifacts like echoes can be the result. This can also cause difficulty when it comes to understanding speech.
Symptoms of diplacusis
Here are a few symptoms of diplacusis:
- Off pitch hearing
- Off timing hearing
- Phantom echoes
That said, it’s useful to view diplacusis as akin to double vision: Yes, it can develop some symptoms on its own, but it’s normally itself a symptom of something else. (In other words, it’s the effect, not the cause.) Diplacusis, in these cases, is most likely a symptom of hearing loss. Consequently, if you experience diplacusis, you should probably schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist.
What causes diplacusis?
The causes of diplacusis line up very well, in a general sense, with the causes of hearing loss. But there are a few specific reasons why you might develop diplacusis:
- Noise-related damage to your ears: If you’ve experienced enough loud sounds to damage your ears, it’s possible that the same damage has led to hearing loss, and as a result, diplacusis.
- An infection: Swelling of your ear canal can be the outcome of an ear infection, sinus infection, or even allergies. This inflammation is a normal immune response, but it can influence the way sound waves travel into your inner ear (and therefore your brain).
- Earwax: In some cases, an earwax blockage can impede your ability to hear. Whether that earwax forms a partial or complete blockage, it can cause diplacusis.
- A tumor: In some extremely rare cases, tumors inside your ear canal can lead to diplacusis. Don’t panic! They’re normally benign. But you still should talk to us about it.
It’s clear that there are a number of the same causes of diplacusis and hearing loss. Meaning that you probably have some level of hearing loss if you’re experiencing diplacusis. So you should definitely come in and see us.
Treatments for diplacusis
Depending on the main cause, there are a few possible treatments. If your condition is the result of a blockage, such as earwax, then treatment will concentrate on the removal of that obstruction. But permanent sensorineural hearing loss is more often 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. It’s important to get the proper settings on your hearing aids and you’ll need to have us help you with that.
- Cochlear implant: A cochlear implant might be the only way of dealing with diplacusis if the root cause is profound hearing loss.
All of this starts with a hearing exam. Here’s how you can think about it: whatever kind of hearing loss is the source of your diplacusis, a hearing test will be able to identify that (maybe you simply think things sound strange at this point and you don’t even recognize it as diplacusis). We have really sensitive hearing tests nowadays and any inconsistencies with how your ears are hearing the world will be found.
Life is more fun when you can hear clearly
Getting the appropriate 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. It will be easier to talk to people. Keeping up with your family will be easier.
Which means, you’ll be able to hear your grandkids tell you all about what a Diplodocus is, and you (hopefully) won’t have any diplacusis to get in the way.
If you believe you have diplacusis and want to get it checked, give us a call for an appointment.