Earplugs Making Hyperacusis Worse?

[Brody11]

Indeed @Brody11, and recent research is starting to back this up with the findings that Type 2 afferrent nerves in the cochlear are present and sending pain signals when exposed to external sound.

Yes, that's what I assume is happening with me. Hopefully, in the near future, researchers can learn how to treat it or at least better understand it.

I have always said do what works for you.

I also have pain hyperacusis, not loudness, but my symptoms got worse from being in silence and stress. I think the more I expose myself to safe noises, the better it gets. I have no idea what's going on, or whether mine is related to Type II or middle ear or...

Out of curiosity, what are your pain symptoms like? I don't have any TTTS-related symptoms like having my ear muscles flutter or spasm, so that's why I assume my issue is in the inner ear, but I can't say for sure. But if you have TTTS-related symptoms it might indicate that your pain hyperacusis is induced by your middle ear muscles.

Also, does your pain linger after exposure? Mine can last hours and often days after hearing something noxious. But I know many people with pain hyperacusis only have pain while espoused to a noxious sound then it goes away after the sound ceases. I'm wondering if this might be an indication that we're dealing with two other types of pain hyperacusis. Maybe, the lingering pain is the type ii nerves and the instantaneous pain is a catastrophically bad version of loudness hyperacusis or something like that. Or maybe I'm wrong and the type ii nerves simply react differently for different people.

 

[eagerUser]

Out of curiosity, what are your pain symptoms like?

Well, regarding lingering pain, it used to linger there sometimes for a week but now I believe, since I started I pushing my limits, it is less lingering, maybe for some hours sometimes. I am not doing something dangerous, just going out, restaurants, cafes, etc. without hearing protection.

The pain is different in each ear. I feel my left ear becomes clogged when a sharp sound is heard and that's why I think the pain is middle ear related. Also, I can make a crackling noise in my ears voluntarily and the crackling becomes louder after being exposed to bothersome noises; that's why I think my symptoms are middle ear related. I also have TMJ which I am going to do something for and neck problems. Both can put pressure on ear muscles.

 

[Josh59]

I have always said do what works for you.

I also have pain hyperacusis, not loudness, but my symptoms got worse from being in silence and stress. I think the more I expose myself to safe noises, the better it gets. I have no idea what's going on, or whether mine is related to Type II or middle ear or...

I don't want to say it has something with central gain or something. It's just what I experience but I guess mine has something to do with the middle ear.

Your point of view is interesting. Are you feeling better now?

Despite your noise trauma, would your hyperacusis have got worse with stress? What kind of symptoms did the stress you had cause in your middle ear? Did the sound and the stress cause vibrations and numbness in the tensor tympani muscle of the eardrum? Did the stress cause Bruxism or tension in your jaw? If you have improved, do you now have fewer symptoms in your tensor tympani muscle? Is your tinnitus reactive to sound?

 

[eagerUser]

Your point of view is interesting. Are you feeling better now?

Despite your noise trauma, would your hyperacusis have got worse with stress? What kind of symptoms did the stress you had cause in your middle ear? Did the sound and the stress cause vibrations and numbness in the tensor tympani muscle of the eardrum? Did the stress cause Bruxism or tension in your jaw? If you have improved, do you now have fewer symptoms in your tensor tympani muscle? Is your tinnitus reactive to sound?

Well, it's an emotional rollercoaster to be honest.

Yes, my hyperacusis got worse with stress. My threshold dropped to almost 0 from stress and some almost inaudible noises resulted in ear pain, not just fullness.

I don't know about numbness but sometimes I cannnot crackle and pop my ears after being exposed to noise. Maybe it's related to tensor tympani, maybe something else. I have tension in my jaw which is not related to my ears. I have been diagnosed with TMJ by several oral surgeons.

Regarding stress, when I use noise-cancelling headphones as a kind of hearing protection, I do feel tension and pain in my right ear which is I guess stress related because I don't play music.

Now I can handle more things than before, like sharp noises, e.g., slamming of a door, throwing keys on table, putting glass bottles on table which makes a sharp sound and they are almost OK for me and I believe all that happened because I pushed my limits. I don't say pushing the limits works for everyone but I have read lots of success stories here that happened by pushing the limits.

No, I can't say mine is reactive. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[bkk97]

Overprotecting does not make hyperacusis worse. Not sure why people still say that even in 2023. Yeah, you might notice sounds are a little louder than usual, but then your brain adjusts. It's never permanent. Not sure why so many people say wearing hearing protection is going to make you permanently worse! Nah. Jastreboff came up with that and he is a scam artist. Funny how all the audiologists say not to protect but they don't have a hint of hyperacusis, let alone noxacusis.

People say this because that's what they experience. In my case I wore earmuffs every time I went to outside. I even wore them at home to listen to my tinnitus and to get used to it quicker. And guess what, over every white-noise alike sound, I started hearing crickets, intermittent beeps (sound distortions). I even developed TTTS such that when someone was talking to me, a muscle in my left ear (i guess tensor tympani), was contracting very hard and painfully every time they started speaking after a short silence. The painful muscle spasms went away after I stopped overprotecting. The reactive part still remains but got better. But my tinnitus is not noise induced so it would not be fair for me to recommend people with noise-induced tinnitus to overprotect or not. But you should know what overprotection might bring.

 

[Brian Newman]

People say this because that's what they experience. In my case I wore earmuffs every time I went to outside. I even wore them at home to listen to my tinnitus and to get used to it quicker. And guess what, over every white-noise alike sound, I started hearing crickets, intermittent beeps (sound distortions). I even developed TTTS such that when someone was talking to me, a muscle in my left ear (i guess tensor tympani), was contracting very hard and painfully every time they started speaking after a short silence. The painful muscle spasms went away after I stopped overprotecting. The reactive part still remains but got better. But my tinnitus is not noise induced so it would not be fair for me to recommend people with noise-induced tinnitus to overprotect or not. But you should know what overprotection might bring.

That's temporary; in no way can overprotection make tinnitus permanently worse. Temporarily louder, sure.

And why did you tag me and my comment? I was talking about hyperacusis.

Painful muscle spasms is middle ear related. Relaxation and not being anxious can help the middle ear relax.

So many people like myself listened to the mild sufferers and kept exposing to sound even though it felt like razor blades in my ear. I went from being pain free at home to permanent severe pain 24/7 that never goes away. Now I can't shower, I can't drive anywhere, I can barely brush my teeth, I have to sleep in double protection, just to not wake up in severe pain. All because I listened to people who had no idea what they were talking about.

So yeah, preventing noxacusis from getting severe is worth the risk of getting a little tinnitus spike.

Now I have no choice, my tinnitus is blaring 24/7 because I can't take the protection off or be around any noise.

It makes no sense for people who got noise damage from noise to expose to more noise. I'm not saying sit in silence like I have to, but there is no research behind it. All you sound therapy guys always say audiologists and Jastreboff say protection makes it worse. Based on what studies? There is only one on collage kids who had healthy ears.

Loudness hyperacusis, noxacusis and tinnitus are entirely different mechanisms. Loudness hyperacusis can be middle ear, brain or even cochlear related. Noxacusis is usually middle ear or inner ear related. Tinnitus is brain or cochlear related.

EDIT: Well, nevermind. I thought you said the opposite.