You may have noticed there is a difference between the way we hear our voice and how others hear it. This happens because when we speak, the sound comes out of the mouth and goes up the sides of our face, hitting the ears directly and making us feel the internal vibrations in the ear and the head.
We talk about autophony when a person can hear their own voice too loud or echoing in the ears. Autophony also involves the perception in the ears of all the other noises that come from one's body, such as one's breathing and heartbeat.
Autophony usually results from diseases of the middle ear, especially in the case of the patulous or intermittent function of the Eustachian tube. Other causes may include eardrum occlusion, otitis media with effusion or Superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS). Let's review them in detail.
The physical disorder known as Patulous Eustachian Tube (PET) indicates an atypical and chronic alteration or intermittent function of the physiological mechanism of opening and closing the Eustachian tube that keeps the Eustachian tube open.
Patulous Eustachian Tube is a condition that is rarely recognized: it mainly affects women, affects only one ear and is characterized by a sensation of a clogged ear, intermittent hearing loss and autophony, the hearing of self-generated sounds.
Autophony is not necessarily a sign of hearing loss but can be if not investigated by a specialist. Autophony causes generally reside in middle ear diseases.
Autophony can be treated in different ways, depending on its causes and severity. The less invasive treatments are applied in case of mild symptoms and consist of some practical advice and actions to be performed during the day like:
However, autophony can also be severe with a degenerative course. The treatments recommended in this case are more invasive and can include surgery for a definitive solution to the disease. Whatever the origin of the problem, it is best to see a physician if this condition should persist.
Autophony can go away with the right treatment playing a fundamental role in its resolution. It is possible to recover from this disease and its symptoms, which can disappear once treated, but it’s fundamental to identify the specific cause. Autophony can be treated by treating the specific disease that caused it or by removing the occlusion that causes this symptom (phlegm, foreign object, etc.)
