Cured Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

[Steve]

How long did it take for the H to go?, and did you do anything in particular..I only use ear plugs for loud noise , Church, dances, went to a lot before T and H now I am afraid to go..Thanks for your info.

I'm not sure exactly how long it took to go but I think it was more than 6 months. It improved over time until one day I just realised that I really wasn't reacting to sounds as bad as I had before.

 

[MarkD]

Hello Markd , do you use custom ear plugs ? I use Walmart' s and they do not work proplerly. need to get some new ear plugs.

Hi alifalijohn,

I use the Mack's Foam ones which are quite good. Even though their meant to be disposable you can wash them in warm water and keep using them. So a $5 pack ends up lasting a long time. Pretty sure they're a US brand and you can find then online or at your local supermarket.

I also purchased some musician plugs from Amazon for $10 for that special occasion which haven't arrived yet.

Since wearing plugs I've noticed how noisy some places are. We live in a really noisy world and no wonder our hearing diminishes as we age.

 

[alifalijohn]

Hello Mark d , thank you for the info. wishing you all the best Take care!

 

[alifalijohn]

I'm not sure exactly how long it took to go but I think it was more than 6 months. It improved over time until one day I just realised that I really wasn't reacting to sounds as bad as I had before.

Thank you for the info. take care!

 

[Cosimo]

Hello my Name is Helmut from Germany - (please excuse my bad english)

I suffered from tinnitus and hyperacusis for about 4 Jears. It was a night in a very loud club which was reasonable for my inner ear damage.
The first thing I realised was that I am alone and did not really get any help by doctors. (Of course I received cortison and medications for better blood circulation but this did not help in any way)
So I was looking up a lot at the internet to find help. I think most people here did or do the same. After a certain time I found a webpage wich explained, that it is absolutely necessary for the healing process to protect the ears with ear plugs (they also offered treatmets with lasers, but this was too expansive for me in that time). So I used the earplugs for more than one jear. In this time I realised a change in the tinnitus. First the hyperacusis increased terrible, but the guys there explained to me that this is normal and necessary, so I weard the plugs. After one year the tinnitus became better. Than I read about vitamin b12 and I took this also for several month. With this combination of earplugs and vitamin b12 the tinnitus finally became much better.
Than I had a terrible familiar situation (Christmas is not good for tinnitus) and all came back to the beginning perhapes worse - I don´t really know. So I had to find a way out of this desaster and as my financial situation was better than at the beginning I decided a treatment with Laser. This therapy was over two weeks and I did not instantly feel a changing, but after a few weeks the sound got less and less. Of course Iweard my ear plugs all the time. Mr Kaiser, the lumomed therapist also made a kind of personal coaching wich was very helpful for my familiar and emotional behaviour and situation. He explained to me that it is absolutely necessary to try to solve emotional especially familiar problems because they can cause a very dangerous kind of stress wich can also be reasonable for tinnitus like noise. Now I am free of tinnitus since more than one year and this is why I want to tell you about my story and treatment, as I want to help other people to get out of this illness.
In Germany I am in contact with more than 200 people who suffer from tinnitus and I try to give as much information about all my "tinnitushistory" as possible. (you can find very helpful informations on this website: www.lumomed.de )

I hope that a lot of you can also find a therapist or a solution for this terrible illness. So never give up hope!!!!![/QUOTE
Hi Helmutk. Thank you for story that bring I big hope to-those, that struggle with this difficult condition . I' m happy that you overcome this terrible situation . You excuse me also for my BAD English . Anyway I got a question this only can be done in Germany ? And how mud the cost is approximately ??????

 

[Cosimo]

Yes my H has gone. It took some time but it went.

I do still dislike using phones, a bit of a psychological connection rather than a painful H one. A mobile / cell phone makes my T worse when I use it to my ear so I only use speaker phone now.

How your T gone? What you did to get out? I got T since june/24/14. I got one no T, but the fallow day comeback very slightly . So far I got no damage on my organs. That. I have a chance to get out of this????? Please replay me. I' m getting very frustrate and very sad.... Regards

 

[Cosimo]

How your T gone? What you did to get out? I got T since june/24/14. I got one no T, but the fallow day comeback very slightly . So far I got no damage on my organs. That. I have a chance to get out of this????? Please replay me. I' m getting very frustrate and very sad.... Regards

I mean I got no noise one day then fallowing day, T coming back... Sorry for my bad English . Thanks

 

[Street Spirit]

My H is only getting worse with time and exposure.

 

[jimH]

My H is only getting worse with time and exposure.

I feel so badly for you that it seems to be getting worse over time. I first experienced H during the Winter. It was when my T had spiked to the most severe it had been in over 30 years. I didn't even know what H was at the time because I hadn't ever heard of it before and I had not as yet found this forum.

I was in a restaurant and couldn't believe how incredibly loud the sound was from waitresses stacking dishes and people just putting their knives back down on their plates! I had a real "WTF if this?" moment because I had never experienced H before. This went on intermittently for about a month. It coincided with when my T was very severe.

Fortunately for me, by going on an antidepressant, my anxiety level dropped significantly. The result of the reduction in anxiety resulted in my T level stair casing back down to it's previous baseline level. The episodes of H stopped when the T level was no longer severe. My T level normally cycles between moderate and loud in both ears. For the lack of a better word I use "severe" to describe the level above my normal "loud".

My short-term (so far) experience with H has made me feel a lot of compassion and empathy for those of you who suffer from it.

 

[Street Spirit]

Thanks @jimH its been 7 months and I am still thinking "WTF is this!"

I am in a incredibly horrid setback..cannot tolerate my daughters voices or even my own..any impact sound..its just so awful and scary!!!

 

[Steve]

@Street Spirit My H lasted quite a long time, I can't remember exactly how long as it also gradually got worse before I knew what it was - after being told by an audiologist.

It takes time to get rid of it, I had white noise generators and kind of a self-administered CBT. For me, convincing myself over time that the reaction is the problem worked, with constant sound enrichment. It wasn't easy, and I still have a slight reaction to some sounds, though it's that they are an annoyance now rather than painful.

@Cosimo I wish I had got rid of the T, it's still here.

You are in the early stages, there is a good chance that it will go. The main thing you need to do now is to stop listening to it, don't plug your ears to hear it, don't listen for it wherever you go. The best, and hardest, thing you can do is keep your attention away from it. Don't expose your ears to loud noises if you can help it

You need to see your Doctor as they will be able to examine you to see if there is an obvious cause, advice here can't replace a specialist examining you.

Even if it does stay with you there are a lot of things you can try to help yourself and there are plenty of people who carry on with life - with a few restrictions. I hear my T above pretty much everything but I carry on and don't let it stop me.

 

[Cosimo]

Hi, Steve. Thank you for your replay, sorry that not answer before. I will listen to your advise. I went to take a tympani gram test or whatever is called . According with the Dr. That make the test my inner, middle and internal ears are OK. Before I went to the test for example, in the last 3 days I got a very small noise like a 200 feet away from my ears. It's like electromagnetic fields. I noted that during the day everything getting like a 100%, but when I got to the bed and I lay down flat my noise comes slowly then high. I try to sleep with few pillow , like stand but very uncomfortable . The results are very favorable for me . I wake up little tired but I got 99% not noise. Another thing is I got high blood pressure high. I soon I change my eating habit. Like eliminating sodium or salt as much possible and also eating organic food, especial veggies & fruit . Now lost like few pound. From 215 pound to 190. I felling less bother by this condition . I may affected by blood pressure. So going to see my ENT on this month July 29. To see what will the official results. And again every time I got to sleep and laid flat is when my problem start. I'm still lost. Don't understand how I get this????? I hope you are getting better and I'm praying for everyone in this forum . Hoping that GOD will be merciful with everyone affected by this horrible condition . Sorry again for my BAD English . My regards

 

[CarrieLee]

Hi HelmutK,

How are you? I readymade your success story and decide to give LLLT a try. I also went to Amon Kaiser in Germay for 11 sessions treatment. Would like to get your feedback on (1) do you buy the home laser device Luci from him? (2) how do you feel in progress after the intensive treatment? I try to manage my expectation and would like to have someone who has gone through the same treatment to share the experience.

I notice you have not gone on the forum for a while and I guess it is because of all the negative comments. I just simply want to have someone who goes through the same treatment to share the experience. Look forward to seeing you here on the forum again.

 

[Lisa88]

Hello my Name is Helmut from Germany - (please excuse my bad english)

I suffered from tinnitus and hyperacusis for about 4 Jears. It was a night in a very loud club which was reasonable for my inner ear damage.
The first thing I realised was that I am alone and did not really get any help by doctors. (Of course I received cortison and medications for better blood circulation but this did not help in any way)
So I was looking up a lot at the internet to find help. I think most people here did or do the same. After a certain time I found a webpage wich explained, that it is absolutely necessary for the healing process to protect the ears with ear plugs (they also offered treatmets with lasers, but this was too expansive for me in that time). So I used the earplugs for more than one jear. In this time I realised a change in the tinnitus. First the hyperacusis increased terrible, but the guys there explained to me that this is normal and necessary, so I weard the plugs. After one year the tinnitus became better. Than I read about vitamin b12 and I took this also for several month. With this combination of earplugs and vitamin b12 the tinnitus finally became much better.
Than I had a terrible familiar situation (Christmas is not good for tinnitus) and all came back to the beginning perhapes worse - I don´t really know. So I had to find a way out of this desaster and as my financial situation was better than at the beginning I decided a treatment with Laser. This therapy was over two weeks and I did not instantly feel a changing, but after a few weeks the sound got less and less. Of course Iweard my ear plugs all the time. Mr Kaiser, the lumomed therapist also made a kind of personal coaching wich was very helpful for my familiar and emotional behaviour and situation. He explained to me that it is absolutely necessary to try to solve emotional especially familiar problems because they can cause a very dangerous kind of stress wich can also be reasonable for tinnitus like noise. Now I am free of tinnitus since more than one year and this is why I want to tell you about my story and treatment, as I want to help other people to get out of this illness.
In Germany I am in contact with more than 200 people who suffer from tinnitus and I try to give as much information about all my "tinnitushistory" as possible. (you can find very helpful informations on this website: www.lumomed.de )

I hope that a lot of you can also find a therapist or a solution for this terrible illness. So never give up hope!!!!!

That's so wonderful. Thanks for sharing your story with us all.
Just a couple of questions:
Has your tinnitus gone? Or are you just habituated?
What do you think initially triggered your tinnitus 4 years ago - stress, medication, noise exposure?
Do you have hearing loss?
Cheers.

 

[ruben ruiz]

I'm not sure exactly how long it took to go but I think it was more than 6 months. It improved over time until one day I just realised that I really wasn't reacting to sounds as bad as I had before.

Steve can I ask you if you take any meds at all?
I feel that meds are a huge part of this.

 

[Steve]

Steve can I ask you if you take any meds at all?
I feel that meds are a huge part of this.

Hi Ruben. I don't take any meds.

They can be useful to help you control an anxiety reaction in the short term but ultimately you have to come away from them and learn to manage it yourself, unless you see it as necessary to be on them for the rest of your life.

 

[billie48]

I am like Steve with my H. It just slowly faded over a few months. I protected like crazy too, but the T was too dominantly harsh without outside noises, and members advised me not to over-protect for normal sounds. So the earplugs came off slowly and the H also faded slowly over time. No drugs were needed for this.

 

[physics13]

so the tinnitus is a sign of hearing cells dying? what is the best ear protection? I'm on the silicone ear plugs right now

 

[DavetheAce]

I'm reading this thread as I am progressing through the success stories. Kudos Helmut. One of the interesting things I found was that Helmut attributed Vitamin B12 to helping his T to go. In a separate thread I have reported that I had to have a dual injection for three days, one being anti-inflammatory, the other being 'Vitamin B', and on the second day I had the best day in the 8 years of T with a really quiet 24 hours. I'm undertaking some other medication at the moment, so have postponed my B complex tablet solution. Another thing I found interesting is the use of ear plugs to reduce sound levels and 'protect' the ears. Maybe I am doing it wrong but when my T is loud, I put on the earphones with waves (beach) playing, I have a game going on the PC and with the TV at normal sound levels I can hear every word being said. I need as much input to focus on as I can in order to get through the higher volume. I don't think earplugs will work for me, but I am interested in the theory that excluding outside sounds may cause the brain to disregard the T. I might try this on good days.

 

[Irish]

@Steve Thanks for the info Steve. My T gradually faded away after about five to six months, but the H is still there, albeit not as pronounced as at the start, plus I still have some ear pain, clicking and ear fullness/pressure, particularly in one of my ears.
That said, I'll gladly take this current state of affairs over the hellish state I was in back in March and April when my T was off the scale.
Can you tell me what kind of white noise sound enrichment you used? Was it videos off Youtube or mp3s you downloaded from some site? Or some other white noise programmes or something prescribed by an expert?

@billie48 Wondering if you tried any sound enrichment white noise/pink noise, etc to help your H go away? Or any supplements? Or did it just fade away by itself with time?
I have H now for about 8 months and although it has faded, to a more tolerable level (perhaps a 20-25% reduction from what it was initially), I would love to be free of it or have it reduced even further.
On a daily level though, the ear clicking/fullness/tenderness is more annoying than the H, if I'm to be totally honest.

 

[Hopeful1]

@Irish
Have you considered Round and oval window reinforcement for the treatment of hyperacusis? ..... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25456168

It very rare to have H without T, your case contradicts to what i have read and understood about T and H.

 

[billie48]

I didn't have to take any supplements for my H. I just took off the ear plugs for normal noises. Members told me overprotection can lead to sound sensitivity. So the plugs were coming off slowly and reluctantly. H just faded over time. Yes, it is a gradual thing. So if yours are improving, it is a good sign.

 

[Steve]

@Steve Thanks for the info Steve. My T gradually faded away after about five to six months, but the H is still there, albeit not as pronounced as at the start, plus I still have some ear pain, clicking and ear fullness/pressure, particularly in one of my ears.
That said, I'll gladly take this current state of affairs over the hellish state I was in back in March and April when my T was off the scale.
Can you tell me what kind of white noise sound enrichment you used? Was it videos off Youtube or mp3s you downloaded from some site? Or some other white noise programmes or something prescribed by an expert?

Hi Irish.

That's amazing that the T has faded, very happy for you. The H will go in time, it really does just take time though. I don't know any shortcuts.

I had in-ear white nose generators although I wouldn't recommend them particularly, I think you can just download some noise and do it with your own smartphone. There are free downloads of pink noise (recommended treatment) here https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/free-noise-samples.7391/

 

[Wout]

@Irish if you have an Android phone, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.synopsia.noisemachine is a great pink noise generator

 

[Tony Phylactou]

Hello my Name is Helmut from Germany - (please excuse my bad english)

I suffered from tinnitus and hyperacusis for about 4 Jears. It was a night in a very loud club which was reasonable for my inner ear damage.
The first thing I realised was that I am alone and did not really get any help by doctors. (Of course I received cortison and medications for better blood circulation but this did not help in any way)
So I was looking up a lot at the internet to find help. I think most people here did or do the same. After a certain time I found a webpage wich explained, that it is absolutely necessary for the healing process to protect the ears with ear plugs (they also offered treatmets with lasers, but this was too expansive for me in that time). So I used the earplugs for more than one jear. In this time I realised a change in the tinnitus. First the hyperacusis increased terrible, but the guys there explained to me that this is normal and necessary, so I weard the plugs. After one year the tinnitus became better. Than I read about vitamin b12 and I took this also for several month. With this combination of earplugs and vitamin b12 the tinnitus finally became much better.
Than I had a terrible familiar situation (Christmas is not good for tinnitus) and all came back to the beginning perhapes worse - I don´t really know. So I had to find a way out of this desaster and as my financial situation was better than at the beginning I decided a treatment with Laser. This therapy was over two weeks and I did not instantly feel a changing, but after a few weeks the sound got less and less. Of course Iweard my ear plugs all the time. Mr Kaiser, the lumomed therapist also made a kind of personal coaching wich was very helpful for my familiar and emotional behaviour and situation. He explained to me that it is absolutely necessary to try to solve emotional especially familiar problems because they can cause a very dangerous kind of stress wich can also be reasonable for tinnitus like noise. Now I am free of tinnitus since more than one year and this is why I want to tell you about my story and treatment, as I want to help other people to get out of this illness.
In Germany I am in contact with more than 200 people who suffer from tinnitus and I try to give as much information about all my "tinnitushistory" as possible. (you can find very helpful informations on this website: www.lumomed.de )Loud noises make me feel very uncomfortable and scary without any pain . Is that Hyperacusis or phonophobia@ Does anybody know?
Even people talking loud in cafeterias make me uncomfortablle .

I hope that a lot of you can also find a therapist or a solution for this terrible illness. So never give up hope!!!!!