Dislike or fear of certain sounds is a common experience in children. Aversive reaction to noise can start in children when they are about 2-3 years old. It can also start later in their life. Parental reactions to this are very important. Over protection by the use of ear plugs or removing the sound source may lead to increased sound intolerance in long term. On the other hand, taking no action may lead to further distress and discomfort in your child.Hyperacusis is a term that is used to describe intolerance to certain everyday sounds that causes significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, recreational, and other day-to-day activities. About 85% of children and young patients referred to my clinic for sound intolerance issues were diagnosed with hyperacusis. Majority of children were sensitive to high pitched sounds. 17% of children and young patients were diagnosed with severe hyperacusis.Only 20% had some hearing loss. For more information see https://tinnitustherapy.org.uk/paediatric-tinnitus-and-hyperacusis/ I offer a child-and parents-friendly therapy approach for hyperacusis. Although the therapy is complex it will be adjusted to suit the level of the childs cognitive development. The aim is to help the patient to learn alternative ways of cognitively reacting to sound which then will reduce the hyperacusis-related distress. Once the therapy achieves diminishing the distress linked with certain sounds, then the actual oversensitivity to certain frequencies will diminish. For more information see https://hashirtinnitusclinic.com/paediatric-clinic/
