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With fewer signals from the auditory nerve fibers reaching it, the brain may generate the buzzing to fill in the vacuum, or turn up its internal volume, making sounds that already loud become intolerable.Īudiologists are well aware that many patients have trouble understanding speech in noisy situations. The researchers think cochlear synaptopathy may help explain tinnitus, the persistent buzzing or ringing some people hear, as well as hyperacusis, which is an increased sensitivity to unpleasant sounds such as a baby crying or a siren. If some of those nerve connections die, the brain gets a lower-resolution image and may lose the ability to distinguish where sounds are coming from and who is speaking. Liberman likens sound signals arriving at the brain to a high-resolution photo, with nerve connections like thousands of pixels creating a clear picture. He and his colleagues are hoping to develop more precise tests to measure damage to cochlear synapses and diagnose it definitively.Įxactly how such damage, called cochlear synaptopathy, compromises the ability to understand speech amid noise isn’t fully understood. “We believe this is the first evidence of hidden hearing loss in humans-but it is just a first step,” said Stéphane Maison, the study’s lead investigator. A new device called Soundhawk offers help to people who sometimes find it hard to hear-but aren't ready for a $3,000 hearing aid.