In reading through Tinnitus Talk, I am seeing that there are different kinds of hyperacusis (pain and loudness, right?) and that tinnitus itself also causes ear pain in itself? I'm not too sure which I have.
My ear pain is now moderate, abrasive, sharp, throbbing, and relatively constant and exacerbated by noises. My tinnitus is noise induced from 6 years ago and was heavily spiked recently from a possible combo of an accidental exposure to loud live music 3 weeks ago, the first Pfizer shot a week before that , and a subsequent MRI last week. Consecutive potential acoustic (or inflammatory, in the case of the vaccine if that is making things worse) injuries.
I thought it was normal to have ear pain for a while after an acoustic injury, I had it severely for a week after my first injury 6 years ago, and then it because mild and directly in response to noise for months to a couple years after. it seems after reading posts here that this is not as common of a reaction as solely having tinnitus.
The pain is disturbing, scary, which you all already know. I am alone working on the road and I do not sleep now, mostly panic at nights and cry in fear, unless there is some improvement in symptoms then I'm able to get briefly optimistic and more "normal". I'm worried it won't go away due to some of the things I'm reading here, especially since I stupidly listened to docs and added a second acoustic injury so soon with the MRI. Yet, some of the posts here are quite certain that this response fades with time in most people. I know my tinnitus is here to stay, I've had it 6 years and ok with its current level. But the new onset of pain after recovering years ago, and resulting distortions and hyperacusis I need to resolve somehow. It also brings attention to my tinnitus again (de-habituating me) since there is so much sensitivity, pain , fullness, popping, and rawness in the ear. I took a Prednisone burst after both recent noise exposures. My first day without Prednisone will be tomorrow and I'm scared everything will get worse. I already feel overwhelmed by car doors, dogs, truck engines, female voices, electronic media, even the pink noise (and other colors too) that used to sooth me through my first recovery sounds grating and painful.
Anyhow, I would like to ask the experts here their take on the prognosis of ear pain specifically. It has been 3 weeks of ear pain, hyperacusis relapse, migraines, headaches, facial pain, increased tinnitus (which at this point is the least of my concern). @Michael Leigh has had encouraging info on this topic in relation to a recent post of mine, and I have been reading his materials as well as the Success Stories to keep up hope. But, some of you seem pretty sure this does not improve for most people.
Basically I feel ignorant on the topic of hyperacusis , what type I may have, and I am reading some opposing viewpoints on Tinnitus Talk.
Also, those of you who deal with this alone, without any loved ones or animals to distract you or remind you of happiness- how the hell do you get through this long-term? I don't remember how I did before. It's like I blocked that hellish year out. And this time feels different, but memories play tricks. I have to work now too, I was "luckily" laid off for quite a while when this happened before, and I hid in a cabin in the woods with my dog to heal, doing who knows what and pretty miserable. But I will be working through it, this time, out of necessity.
Is ear healing similar to concussion healing? Nerve repair? I have healed from a couple of concussions that took quite a long time (6 months) and could relate to that timeframe maybe as I know nerves are slow to heal. But maybe this is different.
Where do I go to pursue medication? A psychiatrist, tinnitus specialist (months of wait time most likely), neurologist? I am uninsured but would pay cash if I knew who to pay for the best help at this point. I already went to the ENT (pre-MRI) and audiologist for a hearing test (normal at that time).
Emotional Segway that I may be embarrassed of later: Currently, I want to give up, scream (quietly), drown, quit my job, stop talking to everyone, adopt an addiction that makes this feel better and slowly die away. I've already done this shit once, healed from brain injuries, illnesses, back injuries, and so much death and destruction surrounding my world, no pity party meant, it's just that a soul gets tired of rebuilding from scratch all the damn time, just when you think you might be catching up to what "normal" people seem to enjoy of life, and think maybe hey, maybe things are looking up due to my Much Better Decision-Making, the universe takes another cheap shot. Sorry, I know there are people here on this site that suffer tremendously, and I wish you were around so I could make you some supper or something and feel like I am helping around here at least instead of being weak, pathetic, and afraid.
Sorry if some of this is repeat information. I am a pragmatist and just want to know what to reasonably expect and how to proceed without losing my grasp on reality.
My ear pain is now moderate, abrasive, sharp, throbbing, and relatively constant and exacerbated by noises. My tinnitus is noise induced from 6 years ago and was heavily spiked recently from a possible combo of an accidental exposure to loud live music 3 weeks ago, the first Pfizer shot a week before that , and a subsequent MRI last week. Consecutive potential acoustic (or inflammatory, in the case of the vaccine if that is making things worse) injuries.
I thought it was normal to have ear pain for a while after an acoustic injury, I had it severely for a week after my first injury 6 years ago, and then it because mild and directly in response to noise for months to a couple years after. it seems after reading posts here that this is not as common of a reaction as solely having tinnitus.
The pain is disturbing, scary, which you all already know. I am alone working on the road and I do not sleep now, mostly panic at nights and cry in fear, unless there is some improvement in symptoms then I'm able to get briefly optimistic and more "normal". I'm worried it won't go away due to some of the things I'm reading here, especially since I stupidly listened to docs and added a second acoustic injury so soon with the MRI. Yet, some of the posts here are quite certain that this response fades with time in most people. I know my tinnitus is here to stay, I've had it 6 years and ok with its current level. But the new onset of pain after recovering years ago, and resulting distortions and hyperacusis I need to resolve somehow. It also brings attention to my tinnitus again (de-habituating me) since there is so much sensitivity, pain , fullness, popping, and rawness in the ear. I took a Prednisone burst after both recent noise exposures. My first day without Prednisone will be tomorrow and I'm scared everything will get worse. I already feel overwhelmed by car doors, dogs, truck engines, female voices, electronic media, even the pink noise (and other colors too) that used to sooth me through my first recovery sounds grating and painful.
Anyhow, I would like to ask the experts here their take on the prognosis of ear pain specifically. It has been 3 weeks of ear pain, hyperacusis relapse, migraines, headaches, facial pain, increased tinnitus (which at this point is the least of my concern). @Michael Leigh has had encouraging info on this topic in relation to a recent post of mine, and I have been reading his materials as well as the Success Stories to keep up hope. But, some of you seem pretty sure this does not improve for most people.
Basically I feel ignorant on the topic of hyperacusis , what type I may have, and I am reading some opposing viewpoints on Tinnitus Talk.
Also, those of you who deal with this alone, without any loved ones or animals to distract you or remind you of happiness- how the hell do you get through this long-term? I don't remember how I did before. It's like I blocked that hellish year out. And this time feels different, but memories play tricks. I have to work now too, I was "luckily" laid off for quite a while when this happened before, and I hid in a cabin in the woods with my dog to heal, doing who knows what and pretty miserable. But I will be working through it, this time, out of necessity.
Is ear healing similar to concussion healing? Nerve repair? I have healed from a couple of concussions that took quite a long time (6 months) and could relate to that timeframe maybe as I know nerves are slow to heal. But maybe this is different.
Where do I go to pursue medication? A psychiatrist, tinnitus specialist (months of wait time most likely), neurologist? I am uninsured but would pay cash if I knew who to pay for the best help at this point. I already went to the ENT (pre-MRI) and audiologist for a hearing test (normal at that time).
Emotional Segway that I may be embarrassed of later: Currently, I want to give up, scream (quietly), drown, quit my job, stop talking to everyone, adopt an addiction that makes this feel better and slowly die away. I've already done this shit once, healed from brain injuries, illnesses, back injuries, and so much death and destruction surrounding my world, no pity party meant, it's just that a soul gets tired of rebuilding from scratch all the damn time, just when you think you might be catching up to what "normal" people seem to enjoy of life, and think maybe hey, maybe things are looking up due to my Much Better Decision-Making, the universe takes another cheap shot. Sorry, I know there are people here on this site that suffer tremendously, and I wish you were around so I could make you some supper or something and feel like I am helping around here at least instead of being weak, pathetic, and afraid.
Sorry if some of this is repeat information. I am a pragmatist and just want to know what to reasonably expect and how to proceed without losing my grasp on reality.
