Has Anybody’s Hyperacusis Disappeared 100%?

Has anyone had their hyperacusis 100% disappear, and how long did it take to go away?

 

No. I have got hearing loss over many years. It's been a long long time with hyperacusis already. And now hyperacusis plus hearing loss, which is quite downlifting.

 

My Hyperacusis has completely disappeared for 23 years. It was treated wearing two white noise generators for 10hrs a day for 2 years as part of TRT and using a sound machine at night.

You might find my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it, helpful in the link below.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

@Juan sorry about that bro

@Michael Leigh thank you. It’ll be a year since I’ve had H next month. Do you think I get TRT

 

HI @Adriel93

I live in the UK. When I had TRT the treatment was free under our health system the NHS. Some hospitals still practice it although they have adapted the treatment to their requirements.

TRT is an expensive treatment and most people wanting it will have to pay privately. If it is only the hyperacusis that is troublesome for you, then you could try self-help by following the information in the link I have given you to my post: Hyperacusis, As I see. You could also try purchasing 2 white noise generators privately and see how you get on. I only recommend someone do this if they tried other forms of treating the hyperacusis which hasn't worked.

Please read my post below that you might find helpful.
All the best
Michael

TRT, As I See It.

I think some people misunderstand TRT and the way it can help tinnitus. Whilst a person is entitled to an opinion, if they haven’t been on the programme and only read reports on it, I don’t believe they are getting the full picture. A number of people have asked me about its effectiveness and when should it be administered. I covered this in my post: What is TRT and when should it be started: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/what-is-trt-and-when-should-it-be-started.19024/

TRT has quite a following and has caused much debate in this forum and elsewhere on the Internet. Unfortunately, a lot of these comments haven’t been favourable, although those that have had the treatment or elements of it have said they found it helpful. This treatment is expensive and I will be candid and say, only those that can afford it are able to try it.

Where I live the treatment is free but it is only available at selected hospitals. Even then, some don’t follow the TRT protocol and adapt the treatment to their requirements but good results have still been possible. In some parts of the UK it’s just not available nor is CBT. Therefore, anyone wanting TRT will have to pay privately at clinic. Other forum members have told me the treatment is free in their country and like the UK, it has been adapted to include some elements of the therapy. This may be wearing one or two white noise generators and not always having tinnitus counselling with a Hearing Therapist, so a person may be left to just get along with it.

I have learned in some countries medical insurance won’t touch TRT, so a person will have to pay for it out of their own pocket, which I think this is unfortunate.

So what is TRT and if one is able to pay for it should they, taking into account some of the negative comments that it has received? Having had TRT twice over 20 years following the TRT protocol, I will try to shed some more light on this treatment and hopefully give the individual a little more clarity to make up their own mind on whether the financial outlay is worth it, but more importantly; is it effective as a treatment for someone that has tinnitus and hyperacusis and enable them to have a better quality of life?

I first want to say the following is based on my own opinion and therefore is not professional medical advice. The onset of tinnitus can be quite an emotional roller coaster for a lot of people, and I believe a person needs time for this to settle. Many people habituate within the first six months to one year of the onset of tinnitus without any treatment. If a person just has tinnitus without any additional symptoms, such as dizziness, deafness or balance problems. I think a period of at least six months should elapse before starting a long-term treatment such as TRT. Anyone paying privately needs to know they are getting the proper treatment. Any clinic not giving you this service then I advise you to go elsewhere because it is not TRT. You should be given two white noise generators to wear and also having regular counselling sessions with a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist. More is explained in the above link.

TRT is not a complete cure so anyone seeking this might be disappointed. However, the sound therapy, which involves wearing white noise generators, I believe can cure hyperacusis as in my case. It should be noted, whilst this treatment may not cure tinnitus, many people find its perception reduces to such a low level they can comfortably live with it. Habituate. In some instances a person might be unaware of their tinnitus for long periods. Each person will respond to it differently.

If you have ever lost someone that is close to you, such as a parent, partner or even a pet then you will know what it is to grieve. Most people will go through this process at some point in their life. It is not often talked about but we all know it’s something that’s inevitable and will come to us sooner or later perhaps even more than once in our lifetime. It requires a period of time for a person to accept that their life has changed, and time is needed to adjust so they will eventually be able to move on.

Why am I saying this some of you might be wondering? A forum member recently asked what does TRT involve? I was explaining to him, the counselling part of the therapy and the relationship between patient and Hearing Therapist. At first the therapist discusses with the patient how the tinnitus makes them feel and how it has impacted on their life. Often people say they have lost interest in the things they once liked doing, which is perfectly understandable. The main goal is to gradually help them to look at life differently and with a more positive outlook. Over time the negative thinking that is often associated with tinnitus and hyperacusis is gradually dispelled and demystified. The Hearing Therapist does this in a controlled and precise manner so that the patient feels relaxed and not pressured.

The forum member then said it sounds like a form of grief counselling. After we had spoken I thought about it and have to say I believe it to be a good description, because that’s what the therapy part of TRT is akin to. Thanks Paul @PaulBe. The amount of times people have told me over the phone or read posts in this forum: “If I could only get my life back”. “My life used to be perfect”. “I keep looking at peoples ears and wondering what my life used to be like”. “If I could only hear silence again”. And so on.

When someone gets loud intrusive tinnitus with or without hyperacusis, in an instant their world has been turned upside down. Some go through periods of stress, anxiety even depression and yearn for the way life was before the onset. They need time to adjust and to accept this new anomaly in their life. Some have an easier time than others at habituating, so may not need the help of a tinnitus counselling. For some that find the tinnitus and hyperacusis severely intrusive TRT and CBT can prove to be helpful. It all depends on the individual, their emotional makeup and the severity of the condition because we are all different. It is for this reason; the treatment can take up to 2 years for a person to adjust to a different way of life and often with a positive outcome.

I was fortunate to have TRT twice and found it to be helpful on both occasions. I only wish that it were more readily available to others.

 

While my T has gone down to a tolerably low level, the H has pretty much gone away for the last few days. I did not do TRT.

I credit this to avoiding overprotection, while balancing this with vigilant overprotection above anything above 80 db's. Also, the daily omega-3, green tea 1-2 cups daily, and foam ear plugs at night is my regimen for those that want to try this. It took me quite a while to figure out all the noise expsoure, and only last week figured out that my cross cut paper shredder was coming up at 88-90 db in my smartphone app. Although this was only a few secs of noise each time, and my volume of shredding is low, it may have been fueling the T/H further as it got better when I eliminated it.

It took about 4 months to get to this point, and I am still taking my earplugs with me everywhere for those random events.

 

I have had permanent Hyperacusis for about a year now. It is here to stay.

 

@Digital Doc I'm happy for you!

@Michael Leigh thank you sir.

 

Thank you, and hope it lasts on my end.

 

This is great to hear. I've had hyperacusis for almost 3 years and it's gotten better but not completely gone. Many people with hyperacusis, including me, describe the sensation of feeling like a protective "filter" has been removed from the ear with hyperacusis leaving the ear to feel raw, sensitive, and susceptible to pain. This is how mine feels relative to my "good" ear that feels more protected. I'm curious did you experience this sensation when you had hyperacusis? It's something that feels like cannot be cured (maybe due to possible nerve damage) but if it can be, that would be very encouraging.

 

Yeah I had my hyperacusis go away 100% after a year or so, unfortunately it came back much worse for no reason, even tho I was careful to wear ear plugs for anything above 90 dB, but might not be like that in your case.

For me, it was just time, and protection like what @Digital Doc has mentioned.

Do not listen to anyone or any doctor telling you go out to normal environment sounds without protection.

 

I felt all what you describe in your post and a lot, lot more. One night around 2 am I awoke out of my sleep to the sound of extremely loud hissing coming out of both of my ears very much like the old fashioned kettle that whistled when coming to the "boil" on a gas stove! I mean exactly like that. If you want to know what it sounds like, type whistling kettle into YouTube:I was so frightened I drove to Accident & Emergency at my local hospital.

Follow some of my suggestions in my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it, to help reduce your symptoms. In more severe cases of sensitivity to sound white noise generators might be needed.

Michael

 

@uae96 Was your hyperacusis moderate or severe (first few months) ?

 

I never really understood fully what hyperacusis was doing to me until it (mostly) stopped doing it.

 

Mine is gone for about 95%. It took a lot of time, about 1.5 to 2 years I would say, for me to get to the point where I am now. You can find my story in my other posts on this forum.

I do not post as much anymore as I for the most part have simply moved on with my life. I still log in sometimes though. This brings me to my point: there are a lot of doom and gloom stories about hyperacusis you can read online, and you should not forget that these discussions are dominated by people who have just gotten the condition and are stressed about it, or by a small subset of people who have not yet have any meaningful improvement, possibly because of other co-morbid conditions or lack of treatment. The large amount of people who improve, generally do not stick around. This creates a very warped view as you find mostly one-sided information. Always keep that in mind as not to lose yourself in an overly pessimistic view of your chances to improve.

 

I think hyperacusis may improve or worsen mainly due to many factors that are incidental and hard to control like accidental noise exposure, the kind of job each person has, the lifestyle etc

TRT seem to me a very un-scientifical method. Saying that listening to pink sound is going to solve hyperacusis seems absurd. And TRT cannot answer the basic questions of getting used to hearing many common sounds that are however extremely loud. Lets say we lived in the middle of Cairo, in Egypt. How is TRT going to help to get used to the super loud sounds of traffic in such a busy city? Or to the sound of a Harley bike? Or the sound of a fighter plane passing by? All these sounds are common in real life.

 

Maybe pink noise for ears is like training muscles on gym.
When you've got stronger muscles and you train and train you can pick up much more weight.

Pink (and brown) noise is definitely work for me, so I don't care about scientific proofs.
Do what you want guys, but just try before giving up.

 

Mine has fluctuated wildly and lately has disappeared.

 

Mine has improved significantly but it is still there. Most sounds are still too loud for me, especially background/ambient noise. Like @DaveH said, it's like a filter has been removed from my ears, and so far, that filter has never returned, not once. To function in daily life, I wear earplugs, much like people with bad eyesight wear glasses. But the constant and unforgiving 24/7 pain disappeared. I still get pain everyday but it disappears in minutes (sometimes seconds), mostly because I'm stubborn enough to test what I can handle. I still can't do a lot of things (like going to the cinema, attending a concert, going on a boat ride, etc.) but at least I can enjoy a few other things. It's neither a happy nor sad story. It's just life.

I don't post here often anymore because I want to move on with my life, but I still lurk every now and then.

 

Try training at the gym with a broken knee, or with an injury that needs surgery.

Hyperacusis means there is damage but there is no treatment for it. So, starting from that point, all the arguments about the miracle of white noise are really worthless.

 

there is no point moving in life when you have cochlear neuropathy.

 

I wouldn't agree with this personally. I think you have to live your life as much as you can within whatever capabilities/restrictions you find yourself with

 

but donate to research for the condition you suffer from so their will be a cure some day.
Keep up to date with what goes on in the community.

Bonus points if you can expose scams.

 

Hyperacusis defined as "pain from noise" is disabling even in very mild forms.

There were times when my pain hyperacusis felt like my ear and right side of face was burning and stinging very badly and other times when it was just a tiny match spark in my ear. Either way I couldn't handle. I am traumatized to this day by what I experienced and find it hilariously sad how pretentious or uninformed audiologist are about this condition.

 

@Contrast i agree on supporting research. I do with another condition I suffer from which is genetic

 

I'm still sorta a newbie (only a few months with H.) and am still hoping for time to help with improvement. Right now, I try to live a normal life, but I always have my earplugs handy just in case. I still cannot tolerate places like noisy cafe's or the like. At night when I go to bed things really calm down. The H is like this motor that winds up and is spinning away in my head all day. The more background noise, the faster it spins. When I go to bed it becomes very quiet and the motor in my head gradually begins to wind down. Sometimes I wake up in middle of the night and realize that the H is barely noticeable. Then as soon as I get up and begin hearing normal sounds, the H motor begins to wind up in my head again. BTW, in my case, I am virtually deaf in my right ear. Anyway, hoping for improvement in the future. For now, I seem to be getting on with it without too much despair. It could be worse.

 

Is this in your right ear, left ear or both?

 

There are different levels of pain. If the pain I first experienced after my setback persisted, I agree that there is no point moving in life. Even when I wanted to, I couldn't. I had to take time off work and lock myself in my home because my ears hurt from riding in a car, talking to people, hearing myself speak, typing on my computer, and even clicking my mouse. Death was the merciful way out.

But I'm really loads better now, and I've gained back some things I thought I lost forever, like listening to music, watching my favorite TV shows, and flying on an airplane. I can ride the bus and the train. I can also be around people, talk with friends, and laugh again.

Of course, I know the fleeting nature of this illness, so if the pain I had comes back and stayed, bye, I'm outta here.

 

I think my H is just about gone, as I am not in any pain or discomfort from loud sounds. I was able to recently attend a wedding reception with a room full of people all talking, without earplugs, and was 100% fine, without any H/T (there was no DJ nor blasting music). I also made sure to take some breaks on an adjoining balcony just to be extra safe. No, there was no spike thereafter. Honestly, if I estimate the db's it was probably in the low 80's, and anything louder I would have put my earplugs in, which I had brought both musician and foam ones with me just in case.

On the other hand, I still generally avoid louder noises, and have concern when I hear them, that it will spike me so I am uncomfortable around anything louder than the wedding reception- not from acute H pain, but concern it could send me back to square one. For example, the other day at a gas station I was pumping gas, and a van rolled in with the radio quite loud, and I could not get out of there fast enough. I don't think it was H, but really that the music was just ridiculously loud so it made me uncomfortable right away, but more from anxiety than H, and it resolved once I got back in the car and on my way. No spike from that either.

Not sure if this is the omega3 working that I take daily, healing occurred, dumb luck, or a combination of the 3, but very glad I am a lot better these days 7 months into this.