Will there be a "cure" for hyperacusis?

We received an interesting email recently from an individual active within the hyperacusis community. The person "[is looking] forward to the day when there is a cure."

This is a difficult matter to approach, even from a layperson's perspective. We at The Daily Decibel are not sure whether hyperacusis is a condition for which there will ever be a "cure" in the most basic sense of the word.

First, there is debate as how exactly to classify hyperacusis. Do we really know what it is, exactly? How well do we know what factors can cause it? Can it be a single factor, or must it be a multitude of factors? It is a condition, but in our judgment it is more accurately expressed as a set of symptoms of one or more conditions -- perhaps symptoms arising from a dysfunctional autonomic system and/or limbic system. And the symptoms are characterized by high sensitivity to certain sounds or combinations of sounds -- and perhaps marked by unpleasant reactions to those sounds or combinations of sounds.

Perhaps what the person meant by a "cure", was (is) a "fix" to the relevant dysfunctional properties of bodily organs and/or bodily symptoms, such as perhaps the autonomic and/or limbic systems. But would that truly be a "cure"?

By no means are we fatalistic about treatments for hyperacusis and its related conditions, such as tinnitus, misophonia, and phonophobia. But strictly speaking, we don't think it appropriate to suggest a "cure" for hyperacusis. Perhaps it can be remedied. For our hyperacusis and/or misophonia, we use NRR 32 and NRR 33 earplugs and we take Klonopin (Clonazepam), a benzodiazepine, to relieve the discomforts caused by the hearing of the sounds. We practice avoidance. We have not been trained to undergo a very sophisticated and painstaking (long and drawn-out) system of retraining therapy. Currently, although there are professionals practicing retraining therapy, there are relatively few of them in the United States, and it is currently an inconvenience for us to spend much time in travel to participate in lengthy retraining sessions. We don't have anything against retraining therapy. But it's simply not an option for us at this time.

Instead, as we mentioned, we use remedies. Remedies are not cures. We don't expect a magical tablet, patch, or cream to be developed that would eliminate hyperacusis symptoms forever. But we will continue our methods of avoidance and using benzodiazepines.

Klonopin, contrary to what some claim, is *not* a narcotic drug. It is administered by top-ranking, distinguished, and experienced health professionals across the U.S. And it certainly isn't illegal. Some public entities ban the use of certain benzodiazepines, but Klonopin (Clonazepam) works for us. We're not ashamed to take it daily.

In our view here, we think more must be learned about hyperacusis before we can talk at length about a cure. What is the root of the problem of hyperacusis in an individual? Once we find that root, then we can determine more about helping treat it.

Quiet Regards,

The Daily Decibel

Abstract - 'A critical consideration of the consumer culture'

Abstract

This essay probes the critical dimensions of consumer-culture theory (CCT) by investigating managerial tendencies toward integrating consumers from above or even imposing culture from on high, rather than viewing consumer culture as something that arises from the consumers themselves. Illustrations based on the use of background music or Muzak support concerns that culture is degraded by marketers as a means of social control. Attempts of an organization such as Pipedown to resist background music present an impression of futility in the face of hegemony. Hence we draw attention to the apparently predominant commercial thrust toward and mass susceptibility to manipulation, as born out by the ubiquity of background music and by the apparent lack of meaningful counter-play by consumers. Noting the lacunae in our critical understanding of consumption, markets, and culture from the CCT perspective, we consider the ideological consequences.

From the journal Consumption Markets & Culture, Volume 11, Issue 1 March 2008, pages 25 - 43

Quiet Regards,

The Daily Decibel

Costly Cell Phones -- Impact of Cell Phone Rings on Academic Performance

Costly Cell Phones: The Impact of Cell Phone Rings on Academic Performance

Authors: Christian M. End; Shaye Worthman; Mary Bridget Mathews; Katharina Wetterau
Affiliation: Xavier University
DOI: 10.1080/00986280903425912
Publisher: Teaching of Psychology, Volume 37, Issue 1 January 2010 , pages 55 - 57

Abstract

College students participated in a study on the "psychology of note taking" during which they took notes on video content and later completed a multiple-choice test on the material. Researchers assigned 71 participants to either the ringing condition (the video was disrupted by a ringing cell phone) or the control condition (no cell phone rings disrupted the video). The hypothesis that the cell phone rings would impair performance was confirmed. Compared to the control group, participants in the ringing condition performed significantly worse on the disrupted test items and were less likely to include the disrupted information in their notes. Citing empirical evidence of academic impairment in course syllabi may improve regulation of cell phone use in the classroom.

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Blog concerning muzak by Particleman at Blogcritics.org

Particleman writes at Blogcritics.org:

It seems the Muzak at work was turned up in the past couple of weeks...

Someone, please, make it stop...

I've even asked everyone in my area for their input and they wholeheartedly agreed: the Muzak has to go...

I've encountered roadblock after roadblock and am ready to give up. But there is one individual I have yet to get a response from: a nearby secretary apparently has the final say over the Muzak. She's on vacation. I've emailed her and dropped by her cube a few times, waiting for her glorious return. When she resumes her post, I will kindly ask for her to see about getting the Muzak turned off. Wish me luck.


We sympathise with you, Particleman. We wish you Good Luck, Particleman.


Kind Regards,

The Daily Decibel

Oregon DMV locations stop the Muzak - UPI News

From UPI "Odd News"

Oregon DMV locations stop the Muzak
Published: March. 4, 2010 at 5:32 PM

PORTLAND, Ore., March 4 (UPI) -- Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services said complaints from employees and customers led them to stop the Muzak at 13 offices in the state.

DMV spokesman David House said several locations in Portland, as well as offices in Medford and Beaverton, are canceling their $160-a-month subscriptions to the instrumental music service in favor of looping safety videos at a lower volume, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Thursday.

"People complain on many topics," House said, "but this is one we have some control over."

House said the canceled subscriptions amount to savings of about $1,175 per month, but much of that is expected to go toward other DMV offices that have requested Muzak subscriptions.

John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA

The John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA (abbreviated JWA), sent us this link containing the following information.

From their Access And Noise page:

About JWA
Access & Noise

"John Wayne Airport has one of the most stringent aircraft access and noise monitoring programs in the United States and the world. Commercial Air Carrier operations at John Wayne Airport are regulated by the Phase 2 Commercial Airline Access Plan and Regulation (Access Plan). The Access Plan places restrictions on operational capacity, hours of operations, and noise levels. General Aviation operations are permitted 24 hours daily subject to compliance with the daytime noise limits and the more restrictive curfew noise limits, as documented in the General Aviation Noise Ordinance.

In order to monitor and enforce these restrictions, the Access and Noise Office utilizes a state-of the-art noise monitoring system that enables us to track each and every one of the approximate 268,000 air carrier and general aviation operations that occur each year at John Wayne Airport. The noise monitoring stations transmit noise events instantaneously to the Access and Noise Office, enabling the staff to have up-to-the-second data on aircraft operations. The newest addition to our system is the AirportMonitor, which shows flights around John Wayne Airport within an up to 80 mile-radius and can easily be accessed from our Web site.

Noise and Access staff responds to approximately 2,500 calls a year. The staff strives to provide outstanding customer service by listening and responding to noise complaints, concerns of the community, and requests for information."

* AirportMonitor (Local Flight Tracking)
* Airport Statistics
* Access and Noise Reports
* General Aviation Noise Abatement
* Phase 2 Commercial Airline Access Plan and Regulation (October 1, 1990 – December 31, 2015)
* Settlement Agreement

Additional Noise Resources:

* Noise Quest - Aviation Noise Information and Resources

One noise-related segment of the airport that JWA does not control, however, is the noise inside the cabin of the jet. Regardless of the noise abatement policies of JWA, the airline cabin is out of the JWA domain. In other words, the airline can play music as loud as it chooses, and in such case the airline traveler is at the mercy of the airliner. AA and United have been known to broadcast sounds remotely into the cabin, and JWA cannot control this.

As to the noise of planes on the runway, and noise in the general vicinity of the airport, we've driven by the runways -- underneath the planes themselves -- and actually it's a quiet experience. Even when we're directly under the plane, approaching the runway, it's quiet. (We're not experts in acoustics, so we don't know why this is.) However, there are a certain series of office buildings, located across from one of the runways, that have not absorbed the airport takeoff/runway sound very effectively.

Quiet Regards,

The Daily Decibel

Drs. Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff Site - Emory University

Recently, it was suggested to us by an audiologist, that we may have misophonia instead of hyperacusis.

There is relatively little documentation on misophonia available on the Internet. Wikipedia has a page, but there is not much else. In fact, dare we say there is almost nothing on misophonia, referred to by Wikipedia as the literal for "hatred of sound". We do have anecdotal information on misophonia. But even the anecdotal info is scarce.

We don't have tinnitus (ringing in the ears). We are, however, are affected physiologically by certain combinations of sounds. Our main treatment regimen is (1) the wearing of soft foam earplugs, to block out the outside sound, and (2) taking Klonopin, also called Clonazepam. Klonopin is in the therepeutic class of medications known as Benzodiazepines, and is somewhat similar to Valium, also a Benzodiazepine.

For balance, comfort, and relief of pain, we get semi-regular chiropractic adjustments of the spine. We don't know to what extent this can diminish our sensitivity to combinations of sounds, but it has certainly benefitted us balance-wise and has given us relief from pain and stiffness of the spinal areas.

The following information is reprinted from the Tinnitus Home Page, the home page of Dr. Pawel Jastreboff and Dr. Margaret Jastreboff, both of Emory University.

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is a common problem, affecting about 17% of the general population around the world (44 million people in the USA). It causes significant suffering in about 4% of the general population (10 million in the USA). Typically patients are told "to learn to live with it." The development of a neurophysiological model of tinnitus (Jastreboff, P.J. Phantom auditory perception (tinnitus): mechanisms of generation and perception. Neurosci.Res.:221-254, 1990) and based on it a new clinical approach have created a totally new treatment for tinnitus that results in significant improvement for more that 80% of the patients treated at our center (Jastreboff, P.J., Gray, W.C., Gold, S.L. Neurophysiological approach to tinnitus patients. Am.J.Otology, 17:236-240, 1996). This method, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), uses a combination of low level, broad-band noise and counseling to achieve the habituation of tinnitus, that is the patient is no longer aware of their tinnitus, except when they focus their attention on it, and even then tinnitus is not annoying or bothersome.

Tinnitus is accompanied by hyperacusis in about 40% of the cases. Hyperacusis is a decreased tolerance of sound and can be a serious problem. Some patients experience hyperacusis without tinnitus. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy can restore totally or partially the normal level of sensitivity to sound.