Why Loud Sounds Startle People With Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss, which can range from minor to profound, is the partial or entire loss of hearing in one or both ears. There are several reasons, and it may strike anybody at any age, although it is more frequent in persons over 60. Presbycusis is the medical term for hearing loss in older people.

Just because a person has hearing loss does not mean they lose their ability to be startled by loud noises. In fact, in many cases, loud noises are perceived as more startling and uncomfortable in people with hearing impairment, says an expert of hearing loss treatment in Kolkata.

If you have hearing loss, you may have noticed this phenomenon known as recruitment or, in some cases, auditory distortion. Though you may have difficulty hearing a family member speaking to you at a normal volume from across the dinner table, you strongly react to someone yelling or hearing loud music playing nearby.

What Causes Recruitment?

To understand how recruitment works, you must first understand how hearing loss works.

Hearing loss occurs when the delicate hair cells in our inner ears begin to degrade. Cells degrade as they age, but certain diseases, ear trauma, tumours, medications and damage caused by extremely loud noises can also cause this.

While some hairs degrade, others remain functional and continue to detect sound waves. This means that people with hearing loss often struggle to detect low-level sounds. Still, as the sound intensity increases loud enough for the older hair cells to detect it, the sound can feel like it rises dramatically in a very short period, which can be startling and disorienting, says the expert of hearing aids in Kolkata.

Visiting an Audiologist

If you are experiencing recruitment and hearing loss, we strongly advise contacting an audiologist. 

Hearing aids are frequently the best treatment for recruitment. Whether you are new to hearing aids or need some adjustments to your current device, your audiologist can work with you to determine what specific noise range bothers you the most and set your hearing aids to compress sounds in that range.

What if I’m in Pain?

Recruitment can be distressing, but if loud noises cause pain, you may have hyperacusis. This condition affects people with and without hearing loss and must be treated by a medical professional.

Contact Hearing Plus today to learn more about what you can do to treat recruitment or any other hearing loss issues, says the well-known expert of hearing aid reprogramming in Kolkata.