Diplacusis is also known as double hearing. It is a form of hearing loss when you hear the same sound differently in each ear. Your brain interprets the sounds you hear. When you suffer from double hearing, you hear two separate sounds with a different pitch, timing, or tone.
Living with the condition is highly frustrating and irritating to most. While for some people it is only temporary, for others it is permanent. Depending on your pitch perception, you can have various types of diplacusis, such as:
This is the most common form that happens when one ear perceives the sound correctly, and the other ear interprets it incorrectly.
This happens when neither ear perceives the sound correctly. This could either result from a difference in timing or pitch. One of your ears may hear the sound slightly sooner than the other. In this case, there is a timing discrepancy. If one of your ears hears the tone at a different pitch than the other, then there is a pitch difference. This condition is more prevalent among people with asymmetric hearing loss.
This occurs when there is a slight difference in the timing of the tone between the two ears. This phenomenon creates the impression of an echo.
This condition happens when one of your ears hears the same sound as if it was two separate ones at different pitches.
The causes of the condition aren’t entirely understood. Experts believe that diplacusis can occur with both, unilateral and bilateral hearing loss. Unilateral hearing loss affects one ear only, bilateral affects both. For example, diplacusis can arise when you lose some of your hearing in one ear only. It can also occur when the degree of hearing loss is greater in one ear than the other.
Most often, diplacusis starts suddenly. Factors that can cause ear damage are noise-induced hearing loss, head trauma, and specific medications. Many people notice their symptoms starting after some acoustic trauma. An explosion or exposure to some other form of loud noise can be traumatizing to your ears.
Drugs that can damage your hearing are called ototoxic. More than 200 ototoxic medications are on the market today. Some of these are used to treat severe conditions, such as infections, heart disease, and even cancer.
Obstructed ear cavity can also be at the root of your problems. A bad ear infection or sinus congestion can diminish your normal hearing. Excess earwax or tumor can also lead to the development of diplacusis.
The causes of the condition aren’t entirely understood. Experts believe that diplacusis can occur with both, unilateral and bilateral hearing loss. Unilateral hearing loss affects one ear only, bilateral affects both. For example, diplacusis can arise when you lose some of your hearing in one ear only. It can also occur when the degree of hearing loss is greater in one ear than the other.
Most often, diplacusis starts suddenly. Factors that can cause ear damage are noise-induced hearing loss, head trauma, and specific medications. Many people notice their symptoms starting after some acoustic trauma. An explosion or exposure to some other form of loud noise can be traumatizing to your ears.
Drugs that can damage your hearing are called ototoxic. More than 200 ototoxic medications are on the market today. Some of these are used to treat severe conditions, such as infections, heart disease, and even cancer.
Obstructed ear cavity can also be at the root of your problems. A bad ear infection or sinus congestion can diminish your normal hearing. Excess earwax or tumor can also lead to the development of diplacusis.
