Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Mines seems to come and go. It was real bad in April and then got a bit better and now my left ear hurts. What the heck.

Hi @Merlin L, My setback was caused by me being overconfident (and stupid) at a loud BBQ. By the time I realised they turned the music up, my ears were already hurting. I lost a lot of progress, although my H episodes tend improve relatively quickly (2-3 weeks) my T still feels louder. The fire alarm on Monday night definitely didn't help.

I have no plans for the summer and I'm just going to avoid loud situations altogether, although I haven't been to a gig/club or used headphones since January..

@Margherita Oh, man, I'm sorry. I hope it passes for you quickly. I saw that few months back you said that you were almost hyperacusis free. Do you mind telling me a little bit about you hyperacusis? How bad was it in the beginning? Is yours pain and/or loudness one? What sounds were you unable to tolerate? When did it start getting better?

I'm also interested to know more about your setbacks, since it's my first serious one and I have no clue how they work. Is you had a setback did you feel like your tolerance was like in the beginning? I feel like I'm basically starting recovery from the beginning again, which is super frustrating. Hope you get better soon!

It's hard to explain.. I think my tolerance has gone down after each setback and it takes a bit longer to heal, to be honest. I have loudness H with discomfort/burning and aural fullness. Symptoms fluctuated a lot - my last setback actually brought up some new symptoms that really scared me (dysacusis and reactive T)

Luckily both dysacusis and reactive (competing) T have gone. I still have loudness H, discomfort in ears, a bit of fullness and louder T. I have found that improvements in H lead to massive improvements in T for me (maybe not actually in volume but definitely in habituation) so I'm hoping that will go down with time and care

I try to live my life normally using protection (double if needed) outside of the house. I have stopped listening to music or watching TV after my setback though cause digital sound irritates my ears.

I agree. For me too both T and H seemed to improve together. You're also super strong for continuing going to places. I've been staying at home mostly (only walks in the nature). May I ask what noise event brought on your H and T?

Thanks - I was in the process of starting a new job and buying a flat at onset of my symptoms. I'm new at work so I can't get time off sick, and I can't lose my job cause I've used my savings for the flat and need to pay my mortgage. Being strong is the only option I have

I went to a really loud club (well, two clubs within 3 days). I was wearing custom-made earplugs but they didn't protect me enough. I had very mild H before then (loud gigs bothered me) but I was told it was all anxiety and that I was safe with plugs in. Famous last words!

Ugh, so sorry Also, congratz on the new job and a flat, try to enjoy it, although I can imagine it's difficult with H. How many people have gotten worse from stupid advice? Including myself, because I was subconsciously thinking that sounds below 85dB can't hurt me and maybe exposing myself is a good idea. What a mess.

I have had mini setback before that lasted only 1-2 days, so I hope this setback exacerbates symptoms also only temporarily. @Margherita hope it gets better for you too in couple of weeks. Btw, do you also have T? We have a pretty similar time of onset with T and H, so I'm wondering how's the ringing for you? Has it gotten any better over the months?

@Merlin L thanks for your kind words. I have had some good days over the last 6 months but really struggling with this last setback. The fire alarm has made my symptoms so, so much worse - doubt it'll take 2 weeks this time..

My T has definitely increased in volume over time but so has my ability to accept it and filter it out. I rarely hear it during the day (unless I'm wearing earplugs) but I'm really struggling to sleep with it after this setback. I can't put digital sound on so I have not nothing to mask it with