What do we mean by sensitive hearing?
Sensitive hearing or even hypersensitivity occurs when normal noises seem too loud or different sounds bother us more than others. This phenomenon suggests that there is a perception and impulse transmission disorder in our nervous system, because of which noises occur more frequently, sound vibrations intensify, and certain types of sounds become louder than they should be. People with this problem can find it difficult to relax because there is almost never silence around them.
Living in constant noise and among sudden sound effects means increased stress for our body. We will be irritable and tired, and we will need a quiet, calm environment.
However, with hearing sensitivity, it is very difficult to find a place or state in which there is no disturbing sound. Then just think about how much more difficult it is for an adult or a child living with sensitive hearing who always must perform and concentrate under strong sound effects. The perception and understanding of speech and the filtering out of essential information become inhibited, thereby burdening the nervous system.
Hearing hypersensitivity is often identified as hyperacusis, but it is more complicated. “Hyperacusis is a disorder in loudness perception. Patients suffering from hyperacusis may appear overly sensitive to a range of sounds, finding many noises unbearable and painfully loud.” (https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/hyperacusis) Hyperacusis is an aquired condition, often connected to some traumatical memories or psychologically disturbing experiences (of course, not always), which is not common in people with sensitive hearing. Hearing sensitivity is rather a congenital condition where the patient hears some frequencies louder than others (like auditory peaks). Sensitive hearing can therefore be behind hyperacusis, but not all hyperacusis patients have hearing sensitivity, just as not all sensitive people have hyperacusis.
Sensitive hearing mainly appears in childhood and, according to studies, affects approximately one in three children. Many children cover their ears when they hear disturbing sounds, or they may have problems with text comprehension or text perception, or their behavior becomes different from the average. Hypersensitivity already appears in cartoons and educational videos, there are scenes where the character gets scared, hides, covers his ears from a strong sound effect, be it fireworks, drills, sirens, thunder, or any other noise. Such a scene can be seen in the episode of Bing: Fireworks, or in one of the episodes of Buster, fireworks also scare the little yellow bus.
Of course, these sounds can be disturbingly loud for most people, and you can gradually get used to such noises with conscious work. However, for a more sensitive child, there are too many similar stimuli from the outside world, and they are simply unable to exclude the distractions, so they can add up to become painfully intense.
After all, in the case of sensitivity, the hearing range often slips, and the threshold of discomfort and pain can be reached even at a lower volume than for people with average hearing.
It is therefore important to treat hearing sensitivity, it should not be ignored, because without treatment we leave a lot of extra burden on the people involved.
