Abstract
BackgroundHyperacusis is a troublesome symptom that can have a marked negative impact on quality of life.ObjectivesTo identify major research questions in hyperacusis.Materials and methodsReview of gaps in knowledge regarding hyperacusis, and where opportunities may lie to address these.ResultsEight major research questions were identified as priorities for future research. These were: What is the prevalence of hyperacusis in adults and children? What are the risk factors associated with hyperacusis? What is the natural history of hyperacusis? How is ‘pain hyperacusis’ perceived? What mechanisms are involved in hyperacusis? What is the relationship between hyperacusis and tinnitus? Can a questionnaire be developed that accurately measures the impact of hyperacusis and can be used as a treatment outcome measure? What treatments, alone or in combination, are effective for hyperacusis?ConclusionThis clinical/researcher-led project identified major research questions in hyperacusis. A further development to identify patient-prioritized research will follow.
Highlights
The term “hyperacusis” is used todescribe the experience of everyday sounds being perceived as intense and overwhelming
Since it is likely that other persons in whom the hyperacusis resolved would not be posting on a hyperacusis forum, the possible existence of such individuals would not be apparent
This gap in knowledge could be resolved by a longitudinal population study of persons self-reporting with hyperacusis, with the aim of determining their progress over time, or by the synthesis of no-intervention control groups in clinical trials on hyperacusis
Summary
The term “hyperacusis” is used todescribe the experience of everyday sounds being perceived as intense and overwhelming. Despite this burgeoning attention to symptoms of decreased sound tolerance, fundamental questions remain. With a subjective symptom such as hyperacusis, estimates of the prevalence in the general population will be strongly influenced by how the question about the experience is formulated. Variation in such questions makes comparison across studies challenging, and a recent systematic review [33] considering hyperacusis in childhood and adolescence concluded that such comparison was not possible at present. Hall and colleagues [17] reported an epidemiological study in the UK, wherein children aged 11 years were asked about over-sensitivity or distress to particular sounds in a wider survey of hearing and tinnitus. Hyperresponsiveness [37, 38] Disruption of central auditory system gain [38] Pathological increased response gain [29] Central gain enhancement [4] Neural amplification [4] Increased nonlinear gain [44] Heightened responsiveness to sound [36] Hypervigilance [37] Central auditory excitability [21] Hyperexcitability [2] Central inhibitory deficit [42] Central sensitization [40]
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