3 ms·

There is a difference between "being able to hear" very low frequencies and a situation where the inner ear has been sensitized - in many cases through a contin

There is a difference between "being able to hear" very low frequencies and a situation where the inner ear has been sensitized - in many cases through a continuous LFN immission that's slightly below the average hearing threshold. If the exposure is constant, the dampening mechanism that is managing the adaption of the cochlea to sound of various intensities can "wear out" on a cellular level and the ear is basically reverting back to it's original (= super sensitive) state. The process of sensitization can also be accelerated/caused through the presence of ototoxic substances like certain organic solvents, desinfectants or antibiotics. Persons with this type of cochlear damage will experience a tiny low-frequency tonal peak in an otherwise "normal" sound spectrum as almost painfully loud, booming (spread out in frequency) and/or as a pressure on the ear. This damage will not show up in standard hearing tests, in fact, pure-tone audiometry will show above-average results. Currently, only DPOAE testing could in theory reveal this type of (rather common) cochlear damage in a non-invasive way. Even though not totally understood, there is epidemiological evidence that this type of aural sensitization is connected with (read: the cause of) disrupted sleep, higher cortisol levels and thus a heightened risk of infections, cardiovascular disease. The lack of sleep frequently leads to depression and anxiety disorders. ... more here: https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/30101/do-our-ears-or-brains-gradually-adapt-to-noise-pollution/86184#86184 https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/30101/do-our-ear...

blunte 7y ago
I wonder if it's any relation to other heightened sensitivities, such as to bright light (compared to how other people handle it), lots of competing sounds (large loud halls full of people having independent conversations), and just general hyper-awareness of everything around oneself. Whether it's accepted or not as "a thing", the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" did mostly describe me. I read the book only recently, so I didn't develop the sensitivities as a result of reading about them :).
- DocNoise 7y ago
  It is important to stress that the mechanism described are completely disconnected from so-called psychological aspects "personality traits" and general sensory processing (like falling into the HSP definition). Elaine Aaron's work is remarkable from a scientific standpoint but should also encourage people to pay more attention to the type and amount of external stimuli we expose ourselves to. The effect of being unable to follow a conversation in a noisy environment however, IS a solid indicator of the processes I describe (you might want to look up "hidden hearing loss" - Kujawa & Libermann have published on this phenomenon).

blunte 7y ago

I wonder if it's any relation to other heightened sensitivities, such as to bright light (compared to how other people handle it), lots of competing sounds (large loud halls full of people having independent conversations), and just general hyper-awareness of everything around oneself. Whether it's accepted or not as "a thing", the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" did mostly describe me. I read the book only recently, so I didn't develop the sensitivities as a result of reading about them :).

DocNoise 7y ago
It is important to stress that the mechanism described are completely disconnected from so-called psychological aspects "personality traits" and general sensory processing (like falling into the HSP definition). Elaine Aaron's work is remarkable from a scientific standpoint but should also encourage people to pay more attention to the type and amount of external stimuli we expose ourselves to. The effect of being unable to follow a conversation in a noisy environment however, IS a solid indicator of the processes I describe (you might want to look up "hidden hearing loss" - Kujawa & Libermann have published on this phenomenon).