Why would a loss of sound perception cause phantom sounds? Let’s review the pathway for sounds: A sound wave enters your ear and arrives at the middle and inner ear, the location of the cochlea, a fluid-filled area with hair cells. The hair cells turn the vibration in the fluid into electrical signals that reach the brain through your auditory nerve.
Illness, injury, noise or aging can damage the hair cells and cause hearing loss. When your brain gets less information from the cochlea, your auditory system may compensate by becoming more sensitive the technical term is “raising the gain” much like when you turn up the volume on a radio when the signal is low or nearly gone. This may be why some people with tinnitus, like Dido, are especially sensitive to loud noise.
