An analysis of data from the Avon Parent-Child Longitudinal Study found that children who developed hyperacusis at age 11 were more likely to have more severe anxiety symptoms at ages 13 and 16. This association remained even when controlling for other neurodiverse traits such as pre-existing anxiety or emotional problems, autistic traits, ADHD, dyslexia, or movement disorders. The paper was published in. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Hyperacusis is a condition in which normal sounds seem unusually loud, unpleasant, painful, or overwhelming. Sounds that most people can easily tolerate, such as clinking dishes, traffic, voices, music, and household appliances, may be too much for someone with hyperacusis. This is different from simply hating noise, as it reduces your tolerance for it.
Hyperacusis can affect one or both ears. It may occur after noise exposure, ear problems, migraines, head trauma, certain neurological conditions, anxiety, or there may be no obvious cause. Some people with hyperacusis also suffer from tinnitus. This means you will hear ringing, buzzing, or other sounds without an external source. This condition causes people to avoid social situations, public places, work environments, or daily activities. Interestingly, constant use of ear protection can sometimes worsen sound sensitivity, although such protection can be helpful in really noisy environments.
Study authors Foteini Tseliou and colleagues wanted to assess whether a single question about hyperacusis at age 11 could help predict anxiety and related emotional problems in adolescence (ages 13 and 16). They also wanted to know if they could discern the developmental trajectories of anxiety that have been identified so far.
These authors analyzed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). ALSPAC is an ongoing longitudinal study that enrolled 14,541 pregnant women due to give birth between April 1991 and the end of 1992, initially residing in the Avon area of the United Kingdom. They gave birth to 14,062 children, 13,988 of whom reached one year of age.
The data used in this analysis were obtained from 6,621 participants in the ALSPAC study. Of these, 51 percent were women. They answered questions about hyperacusis at age 11 and provided data on the mental health outcome of interest for this analysis at least once thereafter. These outcomes were emotional problems for 13- and 16-year-olds. Anxiety, depression, and self-harm at age 24. And emotional issues at 25 years old.
When the participating children were 11 years old, they participated in a hearing test, during which they were also asked about hyperacusis and tinnitus. One of the questions asked whether they had ever experienced sensitivity or distress to certain sounds, especially everyday sounds rather than loud ones. The authors of this study used the answers to this question as a measure of hyperacusis.
Results showed that 3.7% of participating children reported hyperacusis. 62% of children who reported hyperacusis were boys. The analysis showed that children who reported hyperacusis at age 11 were three times more likely to report hyperacusis at age 28.
Further analysis revealed that children who suffered from hyperacusis at the age of 11 tended to show more severe anxiety symptoms at the ages of 13 and 16. This association remained even when other neurodiverse traits such as pre-existing anxiety or emotional problems, autistic traits, ADHD, dyslexia, or movement disorders were taken into account. Specifically, the researchers noted that hyperacusis was most strongly associated with symptoms of fear, worry, and irritability, rather than with broader depressive symptoms or somatic complaints.
Hyperacusis at age 11 also predicted persistent anxiety. This trend refers to children whose anxiety-related emotional problems were already high in childhood and remained high from childhood to adolescence, rather than decreasing over time. Additional analyzes found that hyperacusis predicted emotional problems even when participants were 25 years old, but not generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, or suicidal-self-harm behavior in adults.
“Taken together, our findings suggest that assessing hyperacusis at age 11 years may provide additional predictive insight into the exacerbation and maintenance of anxiety in adolescence,” the study authors concluded.
This study contributes to the body of scientific knowledge regarding the correlation between hyperacusis and mental health. However, the study authors note that the ALSPAC study experienced significant attrition over time, with more than 50% of participants dropping out of the study by age 24. This may have introduced attrition bias and influenced the results. Additionally, measuring hyperacusis with a single question administered in a formal audiology clinic may have led to underreporting as some children may not have realized that the question applied to everyday distress to normal noises.
The paper, “Sensory Hyperacusis as a Predictor of Anxiety in Adolescence,” was authored by Foteini Tseliou, Stephan Collishaw, Alice Price, and Petroc Sumner.
