8th March 2011
Standing in the shower, musician Chris Singleton flinched as he turned the tap on to full. ‘I knew what was coming,’ he says. ‘If I was lucky, I could bear ten seconds under the water before the urge to switch it off became overwhelming.
‘Flushing the loo was even more scary. I became adept at pushing down the handle and then running for the door.’
Chris, 33, was not struggling with an aversion to bathrooms or a water phobia. Rather, he was suffering from hyperacusis — acute sensitivity to sound.
Shhhhh: For those who suffer from hyperacusis, just the sound of a loo flushing can be excruciating
Shhhhh: For those who suffer from hyperacusis, just the sound of a loo flushing can be excruciating
‘It was like a bad joke,’ says Chris ruefully. ‘A rock musician who is allergic to loud noises. But it was actually a nightmare. The sound of certain noises — such as the toilet flushing or the telephone ringing — was actually physically painful.
‘The pain was sharp, the sort of discomfort people with normal hearing would feel if they heard the high-pitched squeal of microphone feedback.’
Hyperacusis is a hypersensitivity to certain sounds at a volume that others find normal, explains Dr Veronica Kennedy, a specialist at NHS Bolton.
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‘Which sounds become painful varies from person to person,’ she says. ‘For some people, the problem may be occasional and fairly mild, but for others it can become extremely life-limiting — to the point where they stop going out and gear their entire life around being in as quiet an environment as possible.’
Experts estimate that between two and five per cent of the adult population will suffer from hyperacusis at some point, but are unclear why it occurs.
‘There are theories that it can be triggered by exposure to a sudden loud noise or it may be linked to a stressful event or a trauma, such as an accident,’ says Dr Kennedy. But in all cases the effect is the same: the internal hearing level is reset.
Chris first noticed something was wrong in early 2004, when his left ear started to feel full, as if he had been swimming and it had fluid in it. ‘After a couple of weeks, I went to see my GP, who said that there was a hole in my eardrum and gave me antibiotics,’ he says.
Like a bad joke: For rock musician Chris Singleton, being allergic to loud noises has been a nightmare
Like a bad joke: For rock musician Chris Singleton, being allergic to loud noises has been a nightmare
‘It healed within a couple of weeks, but by then I was starting to find certain noises — particularly high-pitched ones — painful. And not just in my left ear; my right ear was behaving strangely, too.’
Chris adds: ‘This started to have a subtle effect on my behaviour. When getting on a train, I would always look for the loudspeakers which announced the station names, and find a seat as far away as possible; in cafes, I had to avoid going near the espresso machine.
‘At that stage, the sound of people talking at a normal level was OK, although this changed later on. But bars and clubs became a no-go area without earplugs.
‘The problem was that when I took the plugs out, everything seemed much louder.’
In fact, while many people with hyperacusis wear earplugs, it’s the worst thing they can do. Dr Kennedy explains: ‘When you hear a sound, your brain interprets what level it is at, then translates that so you can hear it properly.
‘If the sound is muffled because you’re wearing earplugs, the brain simply turns up the internal volume so the sound is audible.
‘Then, when you take the earplugs out, everyday sounds are even louder, so you wear the earplugs more often and your brain turns up the internal volume again. It’s a vicious circle.’
A more fundamental problem is lack of awareness of hyperacusis among the general public and even within the medical profession, says Dr Kennedy.
‘Often, people are initially misdiagnosed as having ear infections, sinus problems and, most commonly, tinnitus. This, of course, can lead to distress for the patients who have to live day-to-day with what can be a very miserable condition.’
Hyperacusis is most likely triggered by physical causes like a head injury or overexposure to loud noise. But anxiety plays a big part, too
Hyperacusis is most likely triggered by physical causes like a head injury or overexposure to loud noise. But anxiety plays a big part, too
As Chris was to discover. During the first few months, he went back to his GP several times and saw two private ear, nose and throat consultants who all said there was nothing wrong.
After four months, he was ‘desperate’. ‘Most musicians love the sound of their own voice, but I couldn’t bear mine. I was recording my first album and had to turn the volume down very low and wear earplugs.’
His personal life was also suffering. ‘I became extremely irritable and a nightmare to live with. My relationship with my girlfriend suffered considerably — she had to tiptoe whenever I was around. It led to rows where both of us had to whisper at each other as shouting was out of the question.’
Chris turned to the internet, and discovered his problem was hyperacusis. ‘Although it was a relief to work out what was wrong, there were some pretty upsetting stories about people who had been driven almost to suicide,’ he says.
‘I never got that bad, although at one point I did consider going on anti-depressants.’
However, when he saw another private consultant, who prescribed an anti-anxiety drug with strong side-effects, Chris decided against taking it.
By then, he was living in London, and was referred to an NHS consultant at Barts and The London NHS Trust. ‘He couldn’t have been more different from the others — he actually listened to me,’ says Chris.
After four months, I was desperate. Most musicians love the sound of their own voice, but I couldn’t bear mine
‘He gave me tests to determine just how bad my hyperacusis was. He explained that much of what I was experiencing was anxiety related. Hyperacusis is most likely triggered by physical causes — for example, a head injury or overexposure to loud noise. But anxiety plays a big part, too.
‘Because of this he said my hearing would benefit from psychological therapy. I thought the idea quite funny but, unbelievably, it worked.’
Explains Chris: ‘Once the therapist was able to reassure me there was absolutely nothing wrong with my hearing and that loud noises — as long as they weren’t ridiculously loud — were perfectly within the range of the coping mechanism of the human ear, I stopped being frightened of them.’
He gave up his earplugs, which was hard for a few weeks because noises were very loud. But about six weeks after first seeing the consultant, he was able to sit in a bar without a problem. ‘It was a wonderful moment. I felt normal again,’ says Chris.
Dr Kennedy explains: ‘If you can get the patient to understand the link between the hyperacusis and the anxiety, and give them a few pointers to deal with those issues, the problems can be solved sometimes surprisingly quickly.’ Hyperacusis can also be treated with de-sensitisation, where noise is played at gradually increasing volumes to readjust the patient’s hearing to everyday volumes.
While he considers himself cured, Chris — who has just released his second album, Lady Gasoline — admits there are still times, usually when he is tired or stressed, that loud noises can start to irritate him.
‘When this happens, I take a grip of myself, if you like,’ he says. ‘But I am annoyed that to get to this stage I had to see three GPs, three consultants, three nurses, two trainee hearing therapists and a hearing therapist.
‘The emotional cost had been huge, too. I nearly gave up on my music and my girlfriend.
‘Eventually, I got very good help from the medical profession, but if there was more knowledge about hyperacusis I am sure I could have got better much quicker — and avoided all those whispered fights with my girlfriend!’
Lady Gasoline is out on IRL/Proper and can be bought on iTunes; www.chrissingletonmusic.com
Fuente: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1363993/Allergic-sound-The-debilitating-condition-suffered-thousands-Britons-makes-everyday-noise-excruciatingly-loud.html#ixzz1eh2nwk7w
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