Hyperacusis and social media trends

AbstractPurpose: In recent years, social media has taken on a new role of helping spread awareness about numerous health conditions, including hyperacusis. Individuals with hyperacusis, which is an atypical response to sound that individuals with normal hearing would find acceptable, are turning to social media platforms to learn about and seek guidance regarding their condition, to communicate with healthcare providers, as well as to find support in other members of the hyperacusis community. The purpose of this study was to investigate trends of social media portrayal of hyperacusis.Methods: This investigation systematically analyzed and quantified information related to hyperacusis on three currently popular social media platforms – Facebook (pages and groups), Twitter and YouTube. Further, we noted participation trends across the platforms. The keyword ‘hyperacusis’ was searched on each platform, and results were manually scraped by two reviewers based on numbers of ‘likes’, ‘members’, ‘followers’, ‘v...