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We all tend to blame ourselves when our condition first begins. Learning not to be so hard on ourselves is a crucial part of the habituation process. After all, concerts and headphones don’t come with health warnings on the packaging. There is evidence that wearing ear muffs constantly may not...

Yawning actually makes my multi-tonal tinnitus worse, but deep breathing seems to gradually calm it down. However, if my breathing is too noisy, it can cause a spike in the tinnitus again. I'd be really interested to know if anyone has written a research paper on the relationship between...

I'm sorry to hear that your hyperacusis has worsened. I've been dealing with it for five years now, and it can still be challenging. I often have to wear earplugs in the kitchen to protect myself from the noise of crockery, pots, and pans clattering together, and even the sound of opening a...

I often feel that I might sincerely wish for my life to be over if it wasn't for the wife and kids that I would leave behind. However, if I didn't have family, I think I would take up volunteering for the good of the community or launch myself into a proper fitness program, perhaps taking a new...

Bands I wish I had seen: Muse, Nightwish, Motorhead. Bands I'm glad I saw: Rush, Paul McCartney, Biffy Clyro. Just kidding about Motorhead - I'm not stupid!

I was thinking more of Capitol Hill on January 6th, 2021. It's hilarious when you guys try to pin that on "the Left," too. Smh.

We have an extreme right-wing politician in the UK, a bit like JD Vance, called Nigel Farage. He may have a French name and a German passport, but all the UK's problems are due to immigration, according to him. And we've seen fighting on the streets of England this past week, fuelled by idiots...

Add a poll option for hyperacusis, and I'd say Yes in a heartbeat. Maybe I would have done prison time back when my tinnitus was an 8 out of 10. Right now, it's about 4 or 5, so I can accept it.

I'm back from the dentist, and I'm told I have a split implant, and they're going to have to remove it from where it's fused to the bone. I already got elevated tinnitus from more implant treatment recently and from my wife yelling at me the other day. I feel like my life is painful and...

I use the cheap silicon earplugs that do exactly the same job as the more expensive EarPlanes, and are more comfortable too.

I've done this type of exercise. It definitely helped me reduce my fear response to pain and discomfort from tinnitus and hyperacusis and gave me greater control. It may not be helpful, though, until you get a full understanding of your problems and that they haven't worsened or changed for a while.

You've really been asking a lot of your hearing system. My story isn't that dissimilar. I, too, used Sennheiser Momentum headphones every day in the office at full volume for six months before the concert, which gave me permanent tinnitus. I was using earplugs underneath on some occasions, but I...

@NAPman, thanks for sharing. Your story is similar to mine, except I got severe hyperacusis on top of tinnitus. Five years later, things have improved, but I realize they can just as easily get worse again. I wouldn't say I have a success story to tell unless I get to the point where I can enjoy...

FFS!

Everyone: :huganimation: :huganimation: :huganimation: :huganimation: :huganimation:

Yes, your tinnitus will most likely get better at some point. It may also get worse either before or after that time. By learning its triggers, most of us can live some meaningful life—perhaps not the life we had before, but maybe involving new work and hobbies. I can no longer enjoy the live...

I asked for a rolled towel behind my head to dampen any vibrations reflected back through the chair. The dentist nodded and said that's a good idea; he hadn't heard of it before. It did seem to make the drilling significantly quieter than the previous two times I've had implants placed. I...

Time will tell whether my new tones have been neutralised, or simply deferred. I remain hopeful.

UPDATE: My new tinnitus tones from my dental work yesterday have been fleeting. One was like a tuning fork note (E4, close to my existing middle tones), and in my other ear, it sounded like distant fire alarms. These lasted about an hour initially and came on again briefly during the day for...

That's right. Something like Mack's Hear Plugs, where there is an optional filter you can either put in or leave out, depending on how much of a sound barrier you wish to create. With the filter in, there is still some sound allowed to enter, preventing a full occlusion effect. (Other brands are...

The receptionist at my new dentist talks at 92dB. The waiting room is very small. Think I'll go back to my old dentist again.

Why are coffee machines that loud? No wonder tea drinkers seem so Zen.

It was quite a number of years, at least ten. I've had my bassy rumble for that length of time now so I guess that it's here to stay. I don't have Meniere's though. Always something to be thankful about.

I have this sound too. It used to come and go, and even sound louder in different rooms and buildings. Though it's loud every day now, I hardly notice it. Try YouTube for the famous "easyJet jet sounds" that seems to help a lot of people. Also, I find listening to audiobooks can help dampen it...

I think it's important to our mental health that we gradually find ways to return to doing some of the things that we enjoy, like going out with friends, using necessary hearing protection. I can't comment on the difference made by custom moulded earplugs as I've not gone down that route...

Hi there. My hyperacusis hit me hard in 2019. I hardly went out for around a year. Then came lockdown, which was a great excuse for me to continue not to go out much! For the first few months I felt completely despondent. I listened to no music at all for 3 months, then for the next 3 months I...

I've just seen your post. Thanks for asking! I don't check in here every day any more as I've reached the point where I try not to think about my condition too much. I sleep very well without medication, thanks to yogic breathing exercises. I still wear earplugs around the kitchen because...

Yes it is on most days. I tend to avoid headphones on days when it's more reactive.

I stopped using headphones for 2 years, but lately I've been using them for a mixture of music and audiobooks for up to half an hour a day, and never more than 50% volume and with earplugs underneath.

I don't think much about my tinnitus of 4 years, except when I get a spike and there is always the slight worry it could be permanent. But so far it's always returned to baseline. My hyperacusis is a much bigger worry, but it has been improving at the rate of about 20% per year since 2019. So...

It's crazy, even folk festivals and church conferences hit the 110 dB mark frequently. That's louder than a Slipknot concert. The world's gone mad.

Sorry you're going through this. New sounds will come and go, and can evolve before they become the new normal. They can also recede and become almost unnoticeable. Just give it time and try and live the best life you can. I've had chronic tinnitus for 10 years and 4 years ago it became 20x...

It just left me tired the next day although I clearly was sleeping more during the night. Also my anxiety levels seemed to increase whilst on it and I got dry mouth symptoms. Having said that, it was worth it and I feel my tinnitus and hyperacusis were both helped which lasted after I came off...

You could try looking up brown noise or purple noise. These have more of the upper frequencies rolled off.

Yes, Amitriptyline eased my tinnitus and hyperacusis for the 3-4 months I was on it but the side effects were hard to cope with. I might try this other one you mention instead.

Thanks for the informative post! Are you saying you attribute your recovery mainly to your use of Clomipramine? It's not a treatment I recall seeing mentioned a lot here. I'm desperate to find something that reduces my hyperacusis further, even at the risk of increasing my tinnitus.

Mine started with pyrotechnics at a rock concert. It's quite unbelievable how loud those are allowed to be. All very well limiting the music volume to 100 dB or whatever but pyrotechnics can be up to 170 dB. Insane.

I stand by what I've said. Personally I think it's pretty reckless to go telling people on a tinnitus forum that it's safe to go to 20 concerts a year. But maybe that's just me.

Your tinnitus is obviously mild then. Like mine was for years, until the concert that made it severe and gave me hyperacusis. I hope you stay safe.

It's your decision, but the bass at concerts can be crazy loud these days. I went to a church conference, and an open air festival this year, both of which I thought would be manageable. The normal sound levels would have been around 92 to 95 dB, which I find manageable with earplugs. But when...

Have you tried breathing exercises? I tried various sleep headphones and speakers but I've found by extending the length and depth of my breathing I can be asleep in 5 minutes. You may need to work on doing this quietly to avoid disturbing your husband!

I play in a little acoustic trio and do occasional recording. I was dragged along to an open-air festival recently but couldn't believe how loud the bass was even from the other end of the site. I miss concerts hugely, but it's about finding other positive things to occupy your time, isn't it...

Similar story here. I got low frequency tinnitus following pyro at a Rush concert in 2011. I was already using earplugs but not consistently enough, then in 2019 I got severe high and mid tones plus hyperacusis. It eased off somewhat to the point where I can enjoy most things in life again, but...

@AnthonyMcDonald, thank you for sharing your successes. You mentioned playing the guitar. Do you play in any bands? Have you been able to resume any concert-going or music-making that you were doing before you got hyperacusis?

Hello musicians. I have had to give up rock concerts and most of my music-making since my tinnitus became severe 4 years ago. Over the past year I've played a few low-key gigs - wedding services, a little acoustic folk group with two friends - and I can tolerate using headphones with earplugs...

Noise-cancelling headphones are great for reducing the low hum whilst in flight. You may want to pack earmuffs as well for the takeoff and landing. I've flown several times with tinnitus and only once had a slight spike for a few days after taking an indirect flight with two changes along the...

This sounds a lot like my journey into tinnitus and hyperacusis. I would give the band a rest for the next year or two if I were you, and invest in earplugs rather than headphones. Things will get better, but they may get worse first. ENT doctors know very little about this kind of tinnitus so...

I used to be an agnostic, so ditto!

I apologise, I never meant to add to your stress. There are no guarantees in life, I just want to help people weigh up risks and benefits based on the science, not on political chatter.

You've said nothing scientific about vaccines but plenty that's political. Where are you getting your information - Fox News and Joe Rogan podcasts?

It's true we can't isolate exactly what was the cause of the tinnitus without knowing more about timings, cases with COVID-19 with or without the vaccine etc. But are you really suggesting that the vaccine could be more dangerous than full-blown COVID-19? Do you understand how vaccines work?

Sorry to hear you've got this to deal with. It sounds like you have a good chance of reducing further damage or impact on your life by finding advice on this forum. Earplugs are a musician's friend, although we resist them at first. If I had used them more consistently when I first got signs of...

I really think you should write a book! It was Caesar's death that wasn't written about in detail until over a century later, though it was referred to briefly at the time. Just because I haven't taken the time to check all my sources in forensic detail recently like you have, that doesn't...

Thank you for your comments. 20 years is not a long gap for a historical record to be written. We have nothing written about Julius Caesar until hundreds of years after he lived, nor about some of the ancient Greek wars. There are references by Roman authors to Jesus, by Josephus (although...

Do you think you have "intellectually defeated me?" You're a try-hard, I'll give you that! If you really want to win the argument, there is one claim of Christianity which, if it were disproved, then millions of believers would be forced to abandon their faith overnight. That is the claim that...

Quite a few. Most say they can "hear it in a quiet room", but one friend who played guitar in a heavy metal band had it much worse than me. It has mostly subsided for him now, and he was one of the first friends I called up when I was ready to go out into the world again after my severe tinnitus...

I think I'll pass. I have a number of reasons, both intellectual and personal, which if I were chatting with you over a pint I may well give an airing. But I don't feel the glare of public social media is the place. I've always wondered how anyone can be so certain one way or the other anyway...