Hyperacusis/Recruitment

Supersensitive To Sounds

(c) 2002 by Neil Bauman, Ph. D. (www.hearinglosshelp.com)

There are four different conditions that all can have similar characteristics--normal sounds are TOO LOUD to stand. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell these conditions apart, namely: 1. hyperacute hearing, 2. hyperacusis, 3. recruitment and 4. phonophobia.

1. Hyperacute hearing: This is a rare condition where a person can hear certain sounds at a much softer volume than a person with normal hearing. Therefore, if these sounds are even of moderate loudness, they can seem very loud if you have hyperacute hearing at that frequency.

2. Hyperacusis: This is a condition where a person perceives ALL normal sounds as too loud. Most people with hyperacusis have normal hearing. Hypecacusis can be brought on by trauma to the head, excessive noise and certain drugs. Hyperacusis does not have anything to do with hearing loss.

3. Recruitment: This condition is ALWAYS a by-product of a sensorineural hearing loss. (If you don't have a hearing loss, you can't have recruitment.) A person with recruitment perceives volume increases much faster than the actual volume increase. As a result, sounds rapidly become too loud to stand. A hard of hearing person may have both recruitment and hyperacusis at the same time.

4. Phonophobia: This is a mental condition where people become or are afraid of certain sounds that they associate with "bad things". As a result, they perceive these sounds as much louder than they really are.