Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Oy, as someone struggling with severe H myself, I definitely feel you. What seems to make a positive difference in my case is a combo of the following... maybe it'll help in your case too?

1. Protecting from anything that causes me pain/significant discomfort & generally avoiding loud activities as much as possible. I try to keep things under 70dB. I wear foam earplugs when out in public (this is mostly just going on walks, but I live in a big city) & even when washing my hair (with handheld shower).

Around the house, I have silicone earplugs hanging loosely in my ears at all times. This doesn't really provide any protection but it helps me feel more relaxed.

2. Drinking chamomile tea with fresh ginger tea throughout the day. The ginger is great for inflammation & the chamomile helps relax me & my middle ear muscles. Magnesium before sleep helps with muscle relaxation too.

3. Trying to generally ingest anti-inflammatory things - e.g., ginger tea, turmeric latte, melatonin, & anti-inflammatory foods. I believe a key problem with noxacusis is inflammation, which sets off peripheral sensitization, which then can lead to central sensitization.

4. Taking LDN to help with inflammation (helps with pain as well).

5. Quickly calming myself down after hearing a loud noise (e.g., dish falling into sink, car honking) & distracting myself from what happened rather than doting on it.

6. Exposing myself to as much sound as possible on a daily basis without agitating my symptoms (too much). I do push/test my limits, but try not to overdo it & if I feel any pain/significant discomfort coming on, I rest my ears until the symptoms subside. I've found that some discomfort when exposing is okay & can help increase sound tolerance, but too much can start to undo your progress.

Anyways, I know a lot of that is likely repetitive for you, but it's what's helped me so I thought I may as well put it out there! Best of luck to you, and don't give up!

@MadeleineHope thanks so much for your thorough and kind messages. Your regimen sounds strikingly similar to what has worked well for me in the past, as well as your belief in the power of neuroplasticity. I've healed to 90% from h/t/nox twice now only to have it undone by setbacks, so I know SIGNIFICANT healing is extremely possible!

@MadeleineHope Im really interested in trying LDN but no idea where to start, do you have any recommendations on that?

@MadeleineHope one last Q, if you dont mind, when you do happen to have an accidental loud noise exposure, do you have any tips to prevent yourself from doomthinking/spiraling from anxiety? This has been one of my biggest issues of late.

Oh, that's great that you've noticed positive changes with a similar regimen! That means we're on to something

LDN is low-dose naltrexone. I got it prescribed by my neurologist, but maybe a family doctor would be open to prescribing it as well.

Initially, I went the traditional route by getting it at a compounding pharmacy, but I quickly realized how expensive this would be longer-term with my plan to slowly increase my dosage. So next time I asked my neuro to prescribe me a number of 50 mg tablets instead (much much cheaper). I mix each tablet with 50 mL of water (preferably distilled) in a small beaker to create a 1 mg/mL solution & keep it in the fridge.

Got that info from a YouTube video that I can point you to if you do end up getting a prescription

Re: accidental loud noise exposures... I empathize with you - they suck! Haha. What I do in the moment is tell myself that I'm okay, & I'm going to be okay, and quickly turn my attention to something else. If my attention returns to the situation (which it often does), I keep redirecting.

I do my best not to give the noise any more attention in the moment because I believe that this will only increase the level of threat in my brain & escalate the situation. The only other thing I might do is take some NAC to help allay my fear of further damage, & remind myself of the daily other supplements I take to help protect my ears.

In combination with this (but not in the moment), I also remind myself that exposure to loud noises is normal. Of course, if I could have it my way, I'd opt to never have anything be over 70 dB, haha. But that is simply not realistic... even running water for most reasons will be well over that! Not to mention the sounds of dishes, pots/pans, cutlery, & much more.

There are simply tons of regular sounds that we as human beings are exposed to on a daily basis that are objectively 'loud.' Of course, it's a good idea to use protection when these these higher dB sound levels are prolonged, but unless we walk around wearing hearing protection all the time, it's simply impossible to protect ourselves from all of them!

Essentially, exposure to loud sound is inevitable. Remaining in a 70 dB & under (or even 80 dB & under) bubble is pretty much impossible, even if you went everywhere with earplugs & earmuffs (think of an emergency vehicle with its siren on passing by...).

Even if you stayed home all the time with maximum protection, there are still those kitchen sounds that can easily go into the 100 dB range, & the shower which will amplify low frequencies if you wear earplugs by up to 30 dB, etc.

So I think you know what I'm saying It's simply not realistic to expect yourself to never be exposed to loud (even really loud) sounds. And living a life where you prioritized minimizing loud sounds to the extreme (i.e., wearing heavy ear protection all the time & never leaving your home) would not only be extremely limiting, but would surely lead to further difficulties down the road.

Reasoning like that helps me And reminding myself that I'm already doing a lot more to protect my hearing than the average person (I view this as an advantage that my injury has given me).

Hope that helps!