Noise sensitivity: Causes and treatment

Written by Tom Trones from Minuendo

Do you feel like you have heightened noise sensitivity? Is it hard for you to deal with everyday sounds? Do you find yourself sticking your fingers in your ears when a train screeches to a stop?

If you feel like you're the only one who notices the loud sounds around you, you might have heightened noise sensitivity or hyperacusis. Your brain can confuse and exaggerate certain vibrations, causing discomfort.

Hyperacusis affects approximately 1 in 50,000 people, leading to reduced tolerance to everyday sounds that are not harmful to our hearing.

Noise sensitivity is sometimes referred to as Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST).

The most commonly reported sounds that trigger negative emotional responses such as annoyance, pain, or fear include:

• Low-frequency sounds like drilling machines, traffic noise, and dogs barking
• High-frequency sounds such as dishes rattling, crying children, applause, dentists drilling, and metal shopping carts
• Broadband sounds from a TV, speech, alarms, and kitchen machines
• Sudden sounds like hammering, a car horn, or a door slamming

Hyperacusis can be linked to hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ear). Severe cases of reduced sound tolerance may lead to seizures and loss of balance.

What the average person considers normal sound levels can be screamingly loud to someone with reduced sound tolerance.

Most people have a hearing threshold of pain at 120dB, which is louder than a rock concert or a jackhammer. Below that, the loudness discomfort level is typically around 100dB, similar to the noise level when riding a motorcycle.

Those suffering from reduced sound tolerance often have a loudness discomfort level below 80dB, which is equivalent to someone shouting. This 20dB difference means the perceived loudness can be four times greater!

Can my earplugs help?

Studies indicate that overusing hearing protection may actually cause reduced sound tolerance and worsen an existing condition. Overprotection occurs when hearing protection isolates the user, contributing to worsening symptoms.

For instance, foam earplugs can completely block out surrounding noise.

This creates a vicious cycle where you unknowingly train your ear and brain to become more sensitive to sounds that are not damaging to your hearing. As this progresses, the threshold is lowered, making more sounds unbearable.

How is it treated?

In Norway, reduced sound tolerance is treated by audio therapists, with services covered by the National Health Service. Treatment typically involves counseling, sound training, and cognitive therapy, sometimes combined with physical aids like broadband noise generators.

A key insight in treatment is understanding that normal sound levels are not immediately harmful.

The treatment aims to retrain and recalibrate the connection between the ear and the brain.

This process usually takes months, and many individuals become dependent on their earplugs. Stopping the use of earplugs “cold turkey” can be very difficult and painful. Conventional earplugs often exacerbate the problem by reducing sounds in the higher frequency range.

This is typically where those with reduced sound tolerance face the most challenges. Minuendo variable earplugs offer an advantage in recovering from reduced sound tolerance.

Minuendo earplugs are part of the treatment, allowing for gradual opening over time. No other earplugs provide stepless variability while maintaining a natural sound experience (flat frequency response).

Reference: “Hyperacusis and Disorders of Sound Intolerance: Clinical and Research Perspectives” by Marc Fagelson (Author), David M. Baguley (Author)

This text has been validated and edited by Tina Trones, an audio therapist at Linderud Audiopedagosiske Senter in Oslo, Norway.