Recruitment and Translab

[LizAN]

I've been having problems with recruitment in my AN ear.  I've started wearing an earplug in that ear when I'm driving on the freeway, and find myself plugging my ear with my finger more and more frequently.  As I understand it, recruitment has to do with the hairs in the cochlea.  I would think that means that after translab, I won't have recruitment in that ear anymore.  Is this the case?

Also, for those of you who have had translab, are both the vestibular and cochlear nerves routinely severed at the brain stem, or just the vestibular branch?

Liz

[leapyrtwins]

I'm confused 

What do you mean by "recruitment"?

Thanks,

Jan

[Jim Scott]

I'm confused 

What do you mean by "recruitment"?

Jan ~

From a hearing loss website:

Recruitment

'Recruitment' refers to a condition related to some hearing loss.

Recruitment causes your perception of sound to be exaggerated. Even though there is only a small increase in the noise levels, sound may seem much louder and it can distort and cause discomfort. Someone with recruitment can have problems only with specific sounds and frequencies or may have problems with all sound in general.

The theory of recruitment is that as the hair cells in your cochlea become ineffective, they "recruit" their (still working) neighbor hair cells to "hear" the frequency the damaged hair cell was supposed to hear, in addition to the frequency the still working hair cell was supposed to hear. This increases the signal from the still working hair cells.

The sounds reaching our brains appear to be much louder that normal. This is because the recruited hair cells still function in their original critical bands and also in the adjacent one(s) they have been recruited into.

The net effect is that people who have recruitment along with their hearing loss will experience an increasingly narrow range between the softest sound they can hear (caused by the hearing loss) and the loudest sound they can comfortably tolerate (caused by the recruitment).

Not everyone with hearing loss also has recruitment. It's a condition of the hair cells and their nerve endings in the cochlea. So, people whose hearing loss comes from other sources (such as conductive losses or nerve losses not involving the cochlea) may not experience recruitment.


I hope this helps clarify the term for all of us.

Jim

[LizAN]

Jim, that's a pretty good description.  Thank you.

Jan, my experience is that, while most of my hearing in the AN ear is dulled out, certain frequencies can suddenly come through very loudly, which is quite painful.  I am having an especially difficult time listening to music right now, unless I put an ear plug in my AN ear.  Life without music would be very sad.  I dearly miss my stereo hearing, but at this point, I will settle for being able to hear music one ear without pain in the other one.

Over the weekend, everyone was moved around to different cubes in my office.  I now have noisy, distracting neighbors, so I really need to be able to wear headphones to get my work done.  I'm a software engineer and have to be able to concentrate.  It's hard to wear an earplug when I have headphones on.

Liz

[leapyrtwins]

Thanks for the definition, Jim.  I've never heard of recruitment.

Liz -

sorry to hear about the issues you are having.  Before my AN was surgically removed, I had diminished hearing in my left ear but no pain like you describe.

My surgery left me SSD but I'm still able to hear music in stereo.  I purchased an audio adapter from Cochlear for my BP100.  I use it with my iPod and it's incredible.  It's also kind of surreal because you don't need earplugs.  The adapter plugs directly into my BP100 and I simply hear the music "inside" my head.  No one can hear it but me; I liken it to having a concert inside my head 

Before I purchased the audio adapter I used something called a "mono plug" and a single earbud with my iPod.  I purchased both these items from Radio Shack for less than $10.  The sound isn't as good as my Cochlear adapter, but for the price it isn't bad.

Jan   

[LizAN]

Thanks for the definition, Jim.  I've never heard of recruitment.

Liz -

sorry to hear about the issues you are having.  Before my AN was surgically removed, I had diminished hearing in my left ear but no pain like you describe.

My surgery left me SSD but I'm still able to hear music in stereo.  I purchased an audio adapter from Cochlear for my BP100.  I use it with my iPod and it's incredible.  It's also kind of surreal because you don't need earplugs.  The adapter plugs directly into my BP100 and I simply hear the music "inside" my head.  No one can hear it but me; I liken it to having a concert inside my head 

Before I purchased the audio adapter I used something called a "mono plug" and a single earbud with my iPod.  I purchased both these items from Radio Shack for less than $10.  The sound isn't as good as my Cochlear adapter, but for the price it isn't bad.

Jan

Jan, that is great news!  It really sounds like stereo, through your BAHA?

Awesome!

Liz

[leapyrtwins]

It is really like stereo through my BAHA, when I use my MP3 adapter. 

Jan

[LizAN]

That's pretty exciting!

[CHD63]

I, as well, was confused about the difference between recruitment and hyperacusis so I went searching .....   

Here is a link to what made the most sense to me:  http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/hyperacusis+or+recruitment/default.asp

Hope that helps.

Clarice