Greetings to all

[HiThere]

Hello All:

My name is Chris and I've had tinnitus since childhood; I would assume since birth, but oddly I can't remember back that far. I also have hyperacusis. Both were confirmed by an audiologist about six months ago. Otherwise, my hearing is in the normal range with one ear being better than normal.

My tinnitus frequency is around 7500 Hz and is continuous.

I am in sales and have just recently learned through reading some scientific research based on sales and psychology, that my tinnitus and hyperacusis may be having a negative impact of impeding my sales performance. The audiologist gave me insight that was a revelation to me. She explained that tinnitus keeps the nervous system on high alert ("fight or flight") which helps explain my difficulty in relaxing in many environments. I was disappointed in the rest of my assessment in that the audiologist's recommendation amounted to offering to sell me a handheld MP3 player with sound therapy loaded on it for $3,000+.

I would appreciate anyone who can offer any sort of assistance (things that have worked for them, etc) as I see my dilemma as follows:

Treatment for hyperacusis appears to be desensitization, getting the brain used to tolerating louder sounds. That makes sense to me. However....since I also have tinnitus, loud sounds aggravate my tinnitus. If I'm around loud noises, I can count on the ringing to be significantly louder for days afterward. A Catch 22.

I've contemplated how the biology of these two conditions impact my sales career. If I were to give my brain/nervous system a voice of its own describing on a subconscious level how the tinnitus and hyperacusis affects and impacts my interaction with others, the voice would probably say: "Please don't yell at me. Are you going to yell at me? Are you going to make any sudden loud sounds? Are you? Are you?"

Blocking out sounds with ear plugs, ear protecting headphones, etc. amplifies my tinnitus the most. You would think I'd want to avoid that situation; however, as odd as it may be, it's actually calming for me in part, for whatever reason, because I can hear my own breathing. Blocking out sound, hearing my own breathing has a sort of positive biofeedback effect (even though that's when my tinnitus is loudest). I do realize noise blocking on a regular basis is bad for hyperacusis, making a person even more sensitive to their auditory environment; again, a Catch 22.....

Were it not for the negative impact to hyperacusis sensitivity, I think I would actually function better wearing some sort of discrete noise blocking ear plugs or aid. Life would be so much more peaceful and relaxing if my auditory world were moderated.

Thank you for this forum!

 

[James]

@HiThere
Welcome to the forum. I don't believe that T will have a negative impact on your sales performance. I have no idea what your selling, just do the best you can. Welcome.

 

[HiThere]

Thank you for your welcome. I appreciate it.

Can anyone recommend which area of the forum I would more appropriately post my questions regarding my perception that desensitization treatment for hyperacusis (getting used to loud sounds) would seem to have a negative impact in aggravating tinnitus?

 

[Mark Beehre]

Have you noticed any improvement with the sound reactivity to your tinnitus?

Six years ago I got tinnitus and what could be dysacusis. The combo also features sound reactive tinnitus. I can still recall whilst going through the experience going to a movie with ear plugs and coming out with my ears screaming. However a year later I stopped having any reactivity to sound and had habituated to my tinnitus.

I've had a relapse around 4 months ago which I am still recovering from and have the much loved sound reactive tinnitus again. 2 months ago on a few occasions it got significant louder and lasted days to a week before it cooled off. I was actually worried it wouldn't, but it did. I also had this annoying pulsing variety which has also cooled off in the last week after having it for several months. Now I notice that if I drive to work or home it has a tendency to wind up (although not all the time) and the reaction can last anywhere between 5 minutes to 30 minutes before back to square one. When it happens I go "gah" but then do my best to ignore it. Sure enough it backs off again. I'm hoping that these are signs that my tolerance is coming back down.

 

[HiThere]

Thanks for the info, Mark. My tinnitus has always been sound reactive. Since I've had tinnitus all my life, I have more or less grown used to it. I'm aware of it (there's no way to fully ignore it since it's 24/7 and always has been), but I try not to fixate on it. I do a lot of travel on the road and my vehicle is rather loud. I also have to talk handsfree in the car a lot. I often stuff pieces of damp tissue in my ears while I travel in the vehicle. If I didn't my tinnitus would be much louder similar to if I were to go to a movie without ear plugs (I don't go to movies that often, but I have used ear plugs for movies for years and wouldn't consider going to a theater without ear plugs) or a loud concert.

The idea of purposely exposing myself to louder sounds even in a controlled manner to desensitize my sensitivity to loud noises/hyperacusis scares me as I don't want my tinnitus to ramp up or become front and center.