The effect of noise on concentration for people with and without hyperacusis

Abstract

People with hyperacusis tend to react negatively or show avoidance behavior toward moderately intense environmental sounds because they perceive such sounds as being very loud and painful. Hyperacusis influences emotional well-being, hearing, and concentration. This study compared the number of correct answers of addition in quiet and in noise between 11 young adults with hyperacusis and ten young adults without hyperacusis (aged from 19 to 38 years). All participants had normal hearing. People with hyperacusis were recruited online, complaining of symptoms of hyperacusis, and their scores on the Japanese version of the Khalfa Hyperacusis Questionnaire were high enough, according to a clinical study on hyperacusis. The noise was a mixture of babble noise and the sound of a fork clanging a plate, which are typical sounds annoying people with hyperacusis, and presented at 75 dBA. Results showed that the number of correct answers in noise was significantly lower than in quiet for participants with hyperacusis, while there was no significant difference for participants without hyperacusis. The results suggest that noise reduces concentration more for people with hyperacusis than those without hyperacusis, and support can be needed for hyperacusis, especially at places requiring concentration, such as educational or working environments.