# Extra sensitive hearing?



## KarmaVictim

Is it possible for a normal person to have extremely sensitive hearing? Almost bionic sort of. Like they have excellent hearing, but things like concerts and fireworks actually put them in physical pain. Is there a disorder out there like that, and if there is, can it develop or is it genetic?


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## Hodge

It's not a disorder, but some people do have much better hearing than others. Have you heard of supertasters? The concept works with all the senses.


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## Ilan Bouchard

Adrenaline heightens the senses, although that probably doesn't help in this case.


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## imrhati

if this is set in the future you could invent a implant the amplifies sound.


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## Ilan Bouchard

Like... a hearing aid?


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## imrhati

more powerful, like a hearing megaphone.


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## starpanda

Hi Imrahti

there is something called auditory perception disorder



> Source:http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/auditory.htm
> 
> *What is auditory processing?*
> 
> Auditory processing is a term used to describe what happens when your brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around you. Humans hear when energy that we recognize as sound travels through the ear and is changed into electrical information that can be interpreted by the brain. The "disorder" part of auditory processing disorder means that something is adversely affecting the processing or interpretation of the information


 
Although, this is usually around how the brain proceeses the understanding of sounds, i.e. in similar sounding words etc.  

There is no reason why this could  not be a cause of the affliction you speak of.  I suffer with Tinnitus and that can be at screaming pitch on my worse days, which isn't often thank god.  But tinnitus is thought to be how the brain interprets a loss of hearing in a certain frequency, so if the brain can do that...


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## aspiring

The only thing I know about that bears a slight resemblance to what you're describing is autism. Severely autistic people have trouble filtering out and prioritising sounds, so that very loud or confusing sounds can make them clap their hands to their head and start crying. I don't think they have 'better' or 'enhanced' hearing compared with the rest of us though.


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## patthager

> Like they have excellent hearing, but things like concerts and fireworks actually put them in physical pain.


It's very plausable (at least to someone of limited anatomical knowledge, like myself), if not common, for such a condition to develope in a work of fiction.


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## KarmaVictim

I was avoiding making stuff up to suit the story, but I might need to. I've only had time to write about a page so far, so I can't really see where it's going yet (if anywhere).


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## lisajane

starpanda said:
			
		

> Hi Imrahti
> 
> there is something called auditory perception disorder
> 
> 
> 
> Although, this is usually around how the brain proceeses the understanding of sounds, i.e. in similar sounding words etc.
> 
> There is no reason why this could  not be a cause of the affliction you speak of.  I suffer with Tinnitus and that can be at screaming pitch on my worse days, which isn't often thank god.  But tinnitus is thought to be how the brain interprets a loss of hearing in a certain frequency, so if the brain can do that...



Tinnitus is generally a warning that you're beginning to lose your hearing... that said I generally get it when I'm dizzy and faint, which is often.


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## FrankBlissett

> I was avoiding making stuff up to suit the story, but I might need to.



You could simply give the character a set of symptoms without naming it - there's always people out there in the real world with sets of symptoms so unique that there is no widely-recognized name for it.

If you do feel you need to name it, come up with a few possibilities and run it by a message board for audiologists. Maybe "Atypical Hyperaudio Syndrome". Not sure if "audio" would be used IRL, but that would translate to "a set of symptoms involving super hearing that my doctors can't find any published information on".

I remember an interview with a sit-com writer who wanted a character to suffer from a rare condition that they could use for some comedic effect. They invented "hair eating". After the episode aired, they received a "thank you" letter from a non-profit group for bringing public attention to a disorder they are involved with. (sorry no specifics - it was a while ago I heard the interview)

-Frank


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## lisajane

Hyperaudism I believe would be the correct medical terminology word... if it existed...


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## Kimba

I've certainly never hear of the word and I'm in the medical profession. Hyperaudism sounds far too much like hyper-autism.  

I don't think there *is* a medical term for having sensitive hearing. Don't quote me on that though, I specialise mainly in the spinal and head injuries but if you want I can look it up for you. Just send me a PM to remind me though  I'm rather busy these days.


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## lisajane

That's why I said "if it existed"

Course the word doesn't actually existed. I made it up using medical terminology.


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## xxLuLuxx123

*sensitive hearing = hyperacusis*

It's called hyperacusis and it's a nuisance. There should be more awareness about it. I got it from headphones (prolonged use).


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## excuseme

A couple of persons with Aspergers syndrome suffers from very sensitive impressions. The can be sensitive to sound, taste, touch and a couple more. It's due to the nerve-system that interpret the signals as much stronger than they are. People with this symptom might have problems wearing certain kind of clothing because they hurt against the skin; having problems showering because the water-stream hurts on the skin; be in noisy areas because every sound is much higher for them; having problem with food because the taste or the consistency. I get gag reflexes from some food, for example. Also, if I put my fingers under average hot water, it hurts, because my body interprets it as much hotter than it actually is. This does not actually hurt the fingers or skin, but it feels like it hurts for me.

As for the hearing-part, I read some stories from people with this kind of symptom. There were a boy who could hear which train was coming before he actually saw it enter the station, because he could tell the different sound the train did from each other. There were a boy that didn't like to play outside, and when he was asked why, he answered that he didn't like the sound of the butterflies fluttering wings. This is really amazing, but of as everything it has a backside. It's like turning up everything, and the already high sounds get higher. Think about cats: the jump high when metal-things clash, because of the intensity. This is nothing you evolve over time though, but if you decide to settle for something permanent for your character, this might come in handy, or you just want to read about how it works. Good luck!


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