Have you ever been in the middle of the road and your car breaks down? That really stinks! Your car has to be safely pulled off the road. Then you likely open your hood and take a look at the engine. Who knows why?
Humorously, you still do this despite the fact that you have no knowledge of engines. Maybe whatever is wrong will be obvious. Ultimately, you have to call somebody to tow your car to a garage.
And it’s only when the mechanics get a look at things that you get a picture of the issue. That’s because cars are complex, there are so many moving pieces and computerized software that the symptoms (a car that won’t start) are not enough to inform you as to what’s wrong.
The same thing can occur in some cases with hearing loss. The cause isn’t always evident by the symptoms. Sure, noise-related hearing loss is the typical cause. But in some cases, it’s something else, something like auditory neuropathy.
Auditory neuropathy, what is it?
When most people think about hearing loss, they think of loud concerts and jet engines, excessive noise that harms your ability to hear. 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, this kind of long-term, noise induced damage is not the cause of hearing loss. A condition called auditory neuropathy, while less common, can in some cases be the cause. When sound can’t, for some reason, be effectively transmitted to your brain even though your ear is receiving that sound just fine.
Auditory neuropathy symptoms
The symptoms of traditional noise related hearing loss can sometimes look very much like those of auditory neuropathy. Things like cranking the volume up on your devices and not being capable of hearing well in loud environments. This can sometimes make auditory neuropathy difficult to diagnose and treat.
Auditory neuropathy, however, has some distinctive symptoms that make identifying it easier. These presentations are pretty solid indicators that you aren’t dealing with sensorineural hearing loss, but with auditory neuropathy instead. Obviously, nothing can replace getting an accurate diagnosis from us about your hearing loss.
The more distinctive symptoms of auditory neuropathy include:
- Sounds sound jumbled or confused: This is, once again, not a problem with volume. You can hear sounds but you just can’t make sense of them. This can go beyond the speech and pertain to all types of sounds around you.
- Sound fades in and out: The volume of sound seems to rise and fall like someone is playing with the volume knob. If you’re encountering these symptoms it might be a case of auditory neuropathy.
- Difficulty understanding speech: Sometimes, you can’t make out what someone is saying even though the volume is normal. Words are confused and unclear.
What causes auditory neuropathy?
The underlying causes of this condition can, in part, be defined by its symptoms. It may not be very clear why you have developed auditory neuropathy on a personal level. Both children and adults can develop this condition. And, broadly speaking, there are a couple of well defined possible causes:
- Nerve damage: The hearing center of your brain gets sound from a particular nerve in your ear. If this nerve gets damaged, your brain can’t receive the full signal, and consequently, the sounds it “interprets” will seem wrong. Sounds may seem jumbled or too quiet to hear when this occurs.
- Damage to the cilia that transmit signals to the brain: If these little hairs inside of your inner ear become compromised 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
Some people will develop 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 experiencing auditory neuropathy if you present certain close associations.
Bear in mind that even if you have all of these risk factors you still may or may not develop auditory neuropathy. But you’re more statistically likely to develop auditory neuropathy the more risk factors you have.
Children’s risk factors
Factors that can increase the risk of auditory neuropathy for children include the following:
- Liver conditions that lead to jaundice (a yellow look to the skin)
- Other neurological conditions
- Preterm or premature birth
- A low birth weight
- An abundance of bilirubin in the blood (bilirubin is a normal byproduct of red blood cell breakdown)
- A lack of oxygen before labor begins or during birth
Risk factors for adults
For adults, risk factors that raise your likelihood of experiencing auditory neuropathy include:
- Immune diseases of various kinds
- Family history of hearing conditions, including auditory neuropathy
- Certain infectious diseases, such as mumps
- Certain medications (specifically improper use of medications that can cause hearing issues)
In general, it’s a good plan to minimize these risks as much as you can. If risk factors are there, it may be a good plan to schedule regular screenings with us.
How is auditory neuropathy diagnosed?
A typical hearing test involves listening to tones with a pair of headphones and raising a hand depending on what side you hear the tone on. That test won’t help much with auditory neuropathy.
Instead, we will usually suggest one of two tests:
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) test: Specialized electrodes will be fastened to specific places on your scalp and head with this test. This test isn’t painful or uncomfortable in any way so don’t be concerned. These electrodes place particular emphasis on measuring how your brainwaves react to sound stimuli. The quality of your brainwave reactions will help us determine whether your hearing problems reside in your outer ear (as with sensorineural hearing loss) or further in (as with auditory neuropathy).
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test: The reaction of your inner ear and cochlea to stimuli will be evaluated with this diagnostic. We will put a little microphone just inside your ear canal. Then, we will play an array of tones and clicks. The diagnostic device will then evaluate how well your inner ear responds to those tones and clicks. The data will help determine whether the inner ear is the issue.
Once we do the appropriate tests, we will be able to more effectively diagnose and treat your auditory neuropathy.
Does auditory neuropathy have any treatments?
So you can bring your ears to us for treatment just like you bring your car to the mechanic to get it fixed. In general, there’s no “cure” for auditory neuropathy. But there are a few ways to treat this condition.
- Hearing aids: Even with auditory neuropathy, in milder cases, hearing aids can boost sound enough to allow you to hear better. Hearing aids will be an adequate option for some people. But because volume isn’t usually the problem, this isn’t usually the situation. Due to this, hearing aids are frequently combined with other therapy and treatment options.
- Cochlear implant: For some people, hearing aids won’t be able to solve the issues. It might be necessary to opt for cochlear implants in these situations. 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 increasing or lowering certain frequencies. With a technology known as frequency modulation, that’s precisely what happens. This strategy often utilizes devices that are, essentially, highly customized hearing aids.
- Communication skills training: Communication skills exercises can be combined with any combination of these treatments if needed. This will help you communicate using the hearing you have and work around your symptoms instead of treating them.
The sooner you receive treatment, the better
As with any hearing condition, timely treatment can produce better outcomes.
So if you suspect you have auditory neuropathy, or even just regular old hearing loss, it’s important to get treatment as soon 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.
