Hello everyone,
I have a long history of ear issues (otitis and traumatic otoplasty during childhood, things like that).
I started to feel pain overusing the old Nokia 3100 (2003). After that, I could never touch a cell phone to my ears.
Then, I had episodes of hyperacusis during a period of depression (2005). I went to a rock concert around that time, which resulted in mild hearing loss and constant tinnitus. The tinnitus was treated with sound generators and an excellent audiologist (2010). I could barely hear it after the treatment.
Around 2015, I started to get hyperacusis around my mother (lol). She's like a loud radio show that one cannot turn off (true). So, given my background with ear sensitivity, I thought it was more of a physical issue, but in retrospect, I suspect this was a psychosomatic issue. Who knows?
My father died in 2016. It was a very stressful event for me, and I had a really bad hyperacusis and louder tinnitus episode, which kept me locked up in my room for a few days. It resolved.
Then, during another stressful time, I worked with a group of people who kept speaking very loudly. After some time, I had to seclude myself in a quiet room to work. This event marks the moment when hyperacusis and tinnitus became a severe issue.
I went to an ENT who prescribed hearing aids with white noise therapy (with an audiologist). This was a disaster. Long story short, after wearing those hearing aids for about three weeks (we tried different brands in the process), I hurt and felt increasingly anxious because the incoming sound levels were too loud for my LDLs. One morning, I found myself unable to speak aloud, shower, eat a nut, hear digital sounds, etc.
My MD put me on Bromazepam, which made me feel better for two weeks, but it went downhill again after, worsening as time went by during a few weeks until being homebound. I had to eat alone in my room and whisper to communicate. Many common sounds (a door shutting) would make my tinnitus louder. It would lower a bit during the night but get louder again when I wake up and hear the sound of my sheets. I noticed it would get louder with mind activity, not just sounds.
I stayed homebound for five months and started to speak again. I managed to go outside with custom 30 dB filtered earplugs and Peltors in hand, just in case I encountered a motorcycle, electrical construction, or yard tools. I started to listen to music again, with a very, very low volume at first.
I'm 18 months in now; I still feel very disabled and sick of it.
I've been stuck in my town for all this time. I can't drive for longer than 15 minutes (with earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones). I only take walks in quiet areas and can't stay outside longer than 1h30. My tinnitus gets louder beyond that time spent outside. I have rare social time with friends as I can't bear people's voices. I have to wear earplugs, and the person has to watch their voice level. Otherwise, I get a tinnitus spike. But it's rare when things go well.
I still can't stand digital sounds and constant motor sounds (such as the fridge). Earplugs are okay, but only for a short bit. I still have to plug my ears when I flush the toilet.
I also have leaking ears at night. It feels like liquid in the middle ear blocks the Eustachian tube opening. It hurts, and I have to rest my head on the pillow in such a way that it helps drain that liquid out of the ear canal.
I have to say that a year after the onset (with the hearing aids episode), my anxiety started to drop. I still have lots of anxiety, but I try to manage it with practices such as self-EMDR and things that activate my parasympathetic nervous system. I also feel like hyperacusis has lowered a fair amount. But again, I'm still very disabled. As for the tinnitus, it's not as reactive to sounds as before. I use earplugs to prevent it from getting louder. But it still spikes when I reach my limits, even with earplugs.
I feel like there is a huge psychosomatic component to all this because I check all the boxes for it (I can develop this if you want). But there is no certainty that my experience of this condition is only about that.
I am having a spike right now, so I apologize for my depressive tone. I know many people are in much worse situations than I am, and I feel deeply for them. I will definitely give updates if there is any improvement in the future.
If you ever feel like there is hope for me to one day live a normal life again, or if you'd like to discuss an aspect of what I've described, please feel free to do so. Thank you for reading.
I have a long history of ear issues (otitis and traumatic otoplasty during childhood, things like that).
I started to feel pain overusing the old Nokia 3100 (2003). After that, I could never touch a cell phone to my ears.
Then, I had episodes of hyperacusis during a period of depression (2005). I went to a rock concert around that time, which resulted in mild hearing loss and constant tinnitus. The tinnitus was treated with sound generators and an excellent audiologist (2010). I could barely hear it after the treatment.
Around 2015, I started to get hyperacusis around my mother (lol). She's like a loud radio show that one cannot turn off (true). So, given my background with ear sensitivity, I thought it was more of a physical issue, but in retrospect, I suspect this was a psychosomatic issue. Who knows?
My father died in 2016. It was a very stressful event for me, and I had a really bad hyperacusis and louder tinnitus episode, which kept me locked up in my room for a few days. It resolved.
Then, during another stressful time, I worked with a group of people who kept speaking very loudly. After some time, I had to seclude myself in a quiet room to work. This event marks the moment when hyperacusis and tinnitus became a severe issue.
I went to an ENT who prescribed hearing aids with white noise therapy (with an audiologist). This was a disaster. Long story short, after wearing those hearing aids for about three weeks (we tried different brands in the process), I hurt and felt increasingly anxious because the incoming sound levels were too loud for my LDLs. One morning, I found myself unable to speak aloud, shower, eat a nut, hear digital sounds, etc.
My MD put me on Bromazepam, which made me feel better for two weeks, but it went downhill again after, worsening as time went by during a few weeks until being homebound. I had to eat alone in my room and whisper to communicate. Many common sounds (a door shutting) would make my tinnitus louder. It would lower a bit during the night but get louder again when I wake up and hear the sound of my sheets. I noticed it would get louder with mind activity, not just sounds.
I stayed homebound for five months and started to speak again. I managed to go outside with custom 30 dB filtered earplugs and Peltors in hand, just in case I encountered a motorcycle, electrical construction, or yard tools. I started to listen to music again, with a very, very low volume at first.
I'm 18 months in now; I still feel very disabled and sick of it.
I've been stuck in my town for all this time. I can't drive for longer than 15 minutes (with earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones). I only take walks in quiet areas and can't stay outside longer than 1h30. My tinnitus gets louder beyond that time spent outside. I have rare social time with friends as I can't bear people's voices. I have to wear earplugs, and the person has to watch their voice level. Otherwise, I get a tinnitus spike. But it's rare when things go well.
I still can't stand digital sounds and constant motor sounds (such as the fridge). Earplugs are okay, but only for a short bit. I still have to plug my ears when I flush the toilet.
I also have leaking ears at night. It feels like liquid in the middle ear blocks the Eustachian tube opening. It hurts, and I have to rest my head on the pillow in such a way that it helps drain that liquid out of the ear canal.
I have to say that a year after the onset (with the hearing aids episode), my anxiety started to drop. I still have lots of anxiety, but I try to manage it with practices such as self-EMDR and things that activate my parasympathetic nervous system. I also feel like hyperacusis has lowered a fair amount. But again, I'm still very disabled. As for the tinnitus, it's not as reactive to sounds as before. I use earplugs to prevent it from getting louder. But it still spikes when I reach my limits, even with earplugs.
I feel like there is a huge psychosomatic component to all this because I check all the boxes for it (I can develop this if you want). But there is no certainty that my experience of this condition is only about that.
I am having a spike right now, so I apologize for my depressive tone. I know many people are in much worse situations than I am, and I feel deeply for them. I will definitely give updates if there is any improvement in the future.
If you ever feel like there is hope for me to one day live a normal life again, or if you'd like to discuss an aspect of what I've described, please feel free to do so. Thank you for reading.
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