Hyperacusis

Hyperacusis is a noun that refers to a heightened sensitivity to sound. You may recognize the Greek prefix H-Y-P-E-R from words like hyperactive or hyperdrive. It means ‘above normal.’ The Greek word aukusis (ah KOOSE is) is where we get words like ‘acoustic’ and it means ‘hearing.’ When combined, we get our word of the day which refers to a condition of hearing things more loudly or harshly than normal. Here’s an example: At first I thought my neighbors’ reaction to my band playing in the garage indicated some form of hyperacusis. After all, why else would our music affect their ears so harshly? But it turned out they didn’t have any medical condition. It was just that our band wasn’t so good.