"I can't even understand what's being said" Woman diagnosed with hearing impairment, is it because of 'noise-cancelling' earphones?

A British woman in her 20s was diagnosed with hearing impairment that prevented her from properly recognizing other people's voices. Experts said that 'noise-cancelling' earphones were the cause.



A British woman in her 20s was diagnosed with hearing impairment that prevented her from properly recognizing other people's voices. Experts said that 'noise-cancelling' earphones were the cause. Image unrelated to this article. [Photo = Pixabay @subarasikiai]



On the 19th (Korean time), the BBC reported the story of Sophie, a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with 'auditory information processing disorder (APD)'.



According to the report, Sophie, who grew up in a quiet rural village in England, noticed hearing problems after moving to London to attend university a few years ago. Not only did she have difficulty recognizing where sounds were coming from, but even when she recognized human voices, she was unable to quickly interpret the speech. It was difficult to attend classes in the classroom, so she had to watch the subtitles in online classes to understand the lecture content.



Most of the sounds in daily life were perceived as noise. Because the noise felt excessively loud wherever she went, she had to leave bars and restaurants early.



Sophie explained, "Even when I tried to listen, everything sounded like gibberish. I often heard people say, 'I don't listen well to people' and 'I look dim-witted. '"



Sophie eventually went to the hospital and was diagnosed with no problems in a hearing test, but was diagnosed with auditory information processing disorder in a detailed examination.



This is a neurological disease in which the brain has difficulty processing sounds and words, also called central auditory information processing disorder (CAPD). It refers to a condition in which the brain cannot properly interpret sound information despite the ears normally detecting sounds. Unlike general hearing loss, symptoms mainly occur when there is a problem with the brain.



Experts pointed to the noise-canceling earphones that Sophie usually wore as the cause.



A British woman in her 20s was diagnosed with hearing impairment that prevented her from properly recognizing other people's voices. Experts pointed to 'noise-canceling' earphones as the cause. Image unrelated to this article. [Photo = Pixabay @sweetlouise]



Claire Benton, vice president of the British Audiological Society, said, "Noise-canceling functions only allow you to hear what you want to hear, creating a false environment in which the brain does not need to try to filter out noise. The brain's complex and high-level hearing ability is not fully developed until the late teens, so if you use noise-canceling earphones or headphones in a false environment until your late teens, the development of the ability to process speech and noise may be delayed."



Renee Almeida, clinical director of audiology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, also said, "There is a clear difference between hearing and listening. Noise-canceling functions can impair listening abilities."



Meanwhile, noise-canceling is a function mainly installed in wireless earphones such as Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds. It is known to have the advantage of being helpful for ear health as it can block out surrounding sounds while listening to music, preventing high-frequency or loud sounds from damaging the ears. However, as in the previous case, a problem has been raised that blocking everyday sounds, such as car horns, can cause the brain to forget to filter out noise, which can cause auditory information processing disorders.



Accordingly, experts recommend reducing the time spent using earphones, using the 'ambient sound allowance' mode that allows external noise to be heard, and wearing earphones that do not completely block or cover the ears to prevent problems with the brain's hearing function.





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