What is hyperacusis and how does it affect children?

Hyperacusis is the excessive sensitivity of the ear to loud noises. It is what we know colloquially as 'auditory sensibility'. It may happen to your child that he is frightened by any noise, and that he cries at loud noises or simply tries to cover his ears because he can not stand them. You may hav

Hyperacusis is the excessive sensitivity of the ear to loud noises. It is what we know colloquially as 'auditory sensibility'. It may happen to your child that he is frightened by any noise, and that he cries at loud noises or simply tries to cover his ears because he can not stand them. You may have hearing sensitivity. This is nothing more than a greater sensitivity or ability of the ear to capture sounds.

Discover here if your child has hearing sensitivity or hyperacusis. We explain what hyperacusis is and how it affects children.

We explain what hyperacusis is and how it can affect your child's hearing

Hyperacusis is nothing more than greater sensitivity to sound, either at certain frequencies or at ambient sound. And it is a greater sensitivity to sounds that seem normal to other people. It is a disorder that is estimated to affect 9-15% of the population.

You may discover that your child has hyperacusis or auditory sensitivity if you notice such behaviors:

- You are disturbed by loud noises. If something falls to the ground, it immediately becomes frightened and begins to cry.

- It moves away from the television when you connect it to a volume that seems normal to you.

- Does not support headphones. He takes them off as soon as they try to put them on.

- Away from people who speak with a high tone or a high tone of voice.

- Some sounds bother you a lot more: the sound of a motorcycle, the sound of a concert, the sound of the environment in a shopping center ...

- It is hard for you to fall asleep. Have a sleep disorder

If you suspect that your child may have hearing sensitivity, you can check it with a diagnosis at a specialized center. The otolaryngologist will perform a series of tests, such as an audiometry with levels of comfort and discomfort to the sound, a tympanometry or an MRI of the brain.

Treatment of childhood hyperacusis

Hyperacusis is not something that has a cure, but it should be treated. It is more: you must do it, since it has been shown that hyperacusis can be derived over time if it is not treated in other ear problems such as vertigo or tinnitus (very unpleasant ears that a person hears without external stimuli that provoke them).

The only way to treat hyperacusis is to try to reduce sensitivity to sound. And how is that done? Trying to get used to hearing little by little to stronger sounds.

You should subject your child's hearing to a higher level of sound, gradually, and always to pleasant stimuli. For example, through music. You can play music for five minutes and the next day put it at a slightly higher volume. And so, day after day, try to increase the volume gradually so that he will tolerate it (until reaching an acceptable volume, never too high).

The goal is that your child can tolerate a higher volume of sound but without it becoming aggressive. In this way, the ear will get used to the fact that there are more intense sounds and others that are softer and that both must tolerate.