My Son has "hypersensitive Hearing"?

Question

He is almost 6..

Just started kindergarten..

We travel and have settled down now due to his schooling..

All his life he ran in panic to hide from vacuum..lawn mower..hair dryer.

So i just did theses things when he went for walk with dad.

Over the summer i took him in for physical.

Now he has never really been sick or ear infections.

I explained all this to new doctor..

He said well he hears fine..he just probably has "Hypersensitive Hearing"

Never suggested a specialist or anything.

Yesterday (2nd day school)..they did hearing test at school, i got a note saying he wouldn't participate.I know he wont let someone near him with a tuning fork

I did inform teacher of this in beginning..however i am now concerned and am taking him to a specialist...

My question is ..can anyone tell me what they know about this ?

i am thankful for all in put.

Answer 1

Well i would give you my imput but you probably wouldnt believe me.

Answer 2

I agree with what "formerly" has to say.  Your son may have auditory hypersensitivity, also called hyperacusis.  Sometimes this is seen with cognitive disorders.  How does he react to sudden, loud laughter or shouting?  

It's possible that he may benefit from auditory integration training.  Here's a link to read more about this technique.  With sufficient research, you may even be able to work out a way to do this yourself at home.  The other things I would suggest are several sessions with a child psychologist or LCSW to help with his anxiety and apprehension about loud noise.  Something else may turn up as well.  And he can be examined by an ENT to ensure that his ears are anatomically and physiologically correct.

http://www.aitinstitute.org/sound_hypers...

Answer 3

I feel your frustration.  My daughter is 6 and we have been frustrated for almost 17 months over hypersensitive hearing. I was constantly taking her  to our pediatrician because she would cry and tell me her ears hurt- naturally I thought an ear infection. The pediatrician would say her ears were pink and to watch it and send us home.  Meanwhile, she would have no relief from the pain. We were first alerted by her k5 teacher at school that she always said "pardon me" in class and she was worried that our daughter had some hearing loss.  We took her to our pediatrician who referred us to an audiologist.  The audiologist said that she was great and sent us home. Ear pain continued.We saw a specialist at Children's Hospital (Friday)in Little Rock who told us that her hearing is so incredible that she can hear tones that you and I can't hear thus causing ear pain. I walked away frustrated that the only solution is ear plugs. I'm not convinced and am worried that it is something else.  This is affecting her at school.  We are are kids advocate.  I would encourage you to see a specialist and make sure that it is the correct diagnosis.  God Bless you!

Answer 4

There are two aspects to this problem: one is finding if you can identify some reason why the ear is not functioning properly, and the other is determining if part of the problem is due to behavioral habits that developed because of the problem. These two things can be intertwined because its natural for people to quickly develop avoidance behaviors in response to pain.  Many times, there's not much that can be done about the sensitivity itself, the child can learn coping skills that reduce the anxiety and psychological reaction to uncomfortable sound levels.