In contrast, individuals with hyperacusis have difficulty tolerating sounds which do not seem loud to others like running faucet water, riding in a car, walking on leaves, dishwasher, fan on the refrigerator, handling paper. Hearing this sound retrains the brain to accept everyday sounds. Hyperacusis and tinnitus may affect one or both ears. Individuals with hyperacusis may not have any hearing loss while individuals with recruitment have sensorineural hearing loss that is characterized by reduced thresholds on the audiogram. Hyperacusis and recruitment of loudness are not life threatening but can be very traumatic.
Hyperacusis is very rare, and therefore, little is known about it.
The onset often is associated with exposure to loud noise or with a blow to the head. Hearing tests on people with hyperacusis often are normal. Therefore, measures of uncomfortable loudness levels are used to document the site and degree of hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is a rare phenomenon, affecting 1 in 50,000 people, but is present in 1 in 1,000 people who have tinnitus. The most promising treatment was developed from the work of Dr. Pawel Jastreboff at the University of Maryland.