The quietest home in the world?
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Photo credit: Hande Yavuz
The New York Post recently published an article about what may be the quietest home in the world. Turkish architect Onurkan Cakir suffers from pain hyperacusis, a condition in which everyday noise that doesn’t bother others is painful. The home is in a small village, with thick walls and one bedroom designed to be virtually soundproof. Cakir recently published an article in an architectural journal describing his design principles.
Our late noise colleague Bryan Pollard helped ear, nose and throat doctors understand that what is now called pain hyperacusis was a real entity, not a psychological problem. He did this while working with the nonprofit he started, Hyperacusis Research, Ltd. I also have hyperacusis, but fortunately my symptoms are merely bothersome and not life-limiting.
The most common cause of hyperacusis is noise exposure. This is unlike noise-induced hearing loss, for which the noise dose causing hearing loss is well-understood. There is no similar body of research about how much noise causes hyperacusis. Because there is such a huge factor of individual susceptibility, it is likely that the noise dose that causes hyperacusis (and tinnitus) is lower than the noise dose that causes clinical hearing loss.
There are multiple anecdotal reports of single noise exposures causing hyperacusis, which is what happened to me, but I didn’t have a noise meter installed on my smartphone when that happened. As one of my mentors taught me a long time ago, the plural of anecdotes isn’t data.
We don’t need to know the exact noise dose, though. Avoiding hyperacusis is simple and inexpensive: Avoid exposure to loud noise. If it sounds loud, it’s too loud and one’s auditory health is at risk. Turn down the volume, leave the noisy environment or use hearing protection devices.
Better yet, avoid even potential loud noise exposures. Don’t go to rock concerts or festivals. Walk out of noisy restaurants or bars, watch professional sports events on the television rather than attending them in person, and the same goes for NASCAR or Formula 1 races. If one still attends movie theaters, plays, musicals or even classical music concerts, bring earplugs.
You may be missing out on a few events, but you’ll also miss out on developing hyperacusis or, what’s even worse, pain hyperacusis.