Has Anyone Experienced a Transition from Fragile Hyperacusis Ears Back to Durable Normal Ears?

[Bill Bauer]

@GBB

ENT says that my tinnitus was more likely caused by stress and TMJ than the noise as it occurred nearly 3 weeks after incident. Still have no idea but it sucks. Hopefully we can be at peace with this. I'm learning slowly however sometimes it seems to be worse but really only in louder environments.

My tinnitus turned on 10 days after the incident. These delays are the norm.

 

[Taw]

Hi Bill, in your wealth of knowledge reading the forums, does this also apply to pain hyperacusis as well as the loud variant?

I have been searching intensively for people who had pain hyperacusis and improved (because I have the burning pain also). I can tell you that many improved, but unfortunately there are some who did not improve and changed entirely their lifestyle to accommodate this condition: moved to countryside or stay almost at home, do not go on vacations, etc.

It seems that for pain hyperacusis the only solution is to leave your ears to heal themselves by protecting from noise.

Here is a list with success stories:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/posts/610106

 

[SD7]

I have been searching intensively for people who had pain hyperacusis and improved (because I have the burning pain also). I can tell you that many improved, but unfortunately there are some who did not improve and changed entirely their lifestyle to accommodate this condition: moved to countryside or stay almost at home, do not go on vacations, etc.

It seems that for pain hyperacusis the only solution is to leave your ears to heal themselves by protecting from noise.

Here is a list with success stories:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/posts/610106

Thanks so much @Taw. That's some good news. Hopefully we can join them. Your case is pretty interesting. You got this from one drum lesson?!?

 

[SD7]

I remember several users here whose hyperacusis involved pain, and who eventually got over their hyperacusis...

Thanks @Bill Bauer!

 

[Taw]

Thanks so much @Taw. That's some good news. Hopefully we can join them. Your case is pretty interesting. You got this from one drum lesson?!?

Yep, but I felt that my ears were always sensitive, I could only listen to earbuds (no over-the-ear headphones) at minimum level.
I will create my own topic with more details.

 

[SD7]

Yep, but I felt that my ears were always sensitive, I could only listen to earbuds (no over-the-ear headphones) at minimum level.
I will create my own topic with more details.

Can't wait to read it. Sounds great!

That's interesting you say that about your ears, one could even say you had less exposure in the past because of the self limiting factor of your ears.

Out of curiosity, were you vaccinated prior to the drum lesson?

 

[Taw]

Can't wait to read it. Sounds great!

That's interesting you say that about your ears, one could even say you had less exposure in the past because of the self limiting factor of your ears.

Out of curiosity, were you vaccinated prior to the drum lesson?

I exposed myself for many years while riding a sport motorcycle but I did not have pain at all.

The pain only came when I listened to headphones and only on the left ear (which is very painful at the moment), but stopped after I stopped the headphones usage. I let my ears rest for 1 month and then I could listen again, but always at low volumes.
I never liked loud noises, but of course never expected to have hyperacusis; who knew this dreadful disease even existed? I thought that I will get some hearing loss and that's it.

I am vaccinated, 28 March and 14 April 2021 My acoustic trauma was on 15 March but worsened (after second exposure) in May.

 

[Vassili]

I did. But I still have a long way to go...

 

[Darrenb111]

I don't post much on here but I can say I have had success with my hyperacusis from where i started last November until present. I don't have pain with my hyperacusis but was super sensitive to any sounds such as running water, rain, shower, crisp packets, foil, knives and forks. it was horrendous.

My turning point came when I saw a hearing specialist in London and she gave me an in-ear hearing aid that compresses sounds between 6-8 kHz where it seems my sensitivity lies. This has been a huge game changer for me and I only suffer from hyperacusis now if I get ill or really tired and then it overrides the help the aid gives.

Not sure if this helps. Happy to go into more detail if needed.

 

[SD7]

I don't post much on here but I can say I have had success with my hyperacusis from where i started last November until present. I don't have pain with my hyperacusis but was super sensitive to any sounds such as running water, rain, shower, crisp packets, foil, knives and forks. it was horrendous.

My turning point came when I saw a hearing specialist in London and she gave me an in-ear hearing aid that compresses sounds between 6-8 kHz where it seems my sensitivity lies. This has been a huge game changer for me and I only suffer from hyperacusis now if I get ill or really tired and then it overrides the help the aid gives.

Not sure if this helps. Happy to go into more detail if needed.

Glad you're feeling better Darren. I know most of the thread circles around pain hyperacusis but knowing that you've escaped makes today a bit better.

 

[Juan]

I exposed myself for many years while riding a sport motorcycle but I did not have pain at all.

Do people use earplugs for that?

I have never ridden a motorbike by the way...

 

[NewLionel]

My turning point came when I saw a hearing specialist in London and she gave me an in-ear hearing aid that compresses sounds between 6-8 kHz where it seems my sensitivity lies. This has been a huge game changer for me and I only suffer from hyperacusis now if I get ill or really tired and then it overrides the help the aid gives.

Could you post a link or give some more information on these hearing aids?

 

[CDNThailand]

I had extremely bad hyperacusis, like can't shower and no fan bad...

Now I can drive my motorcycle.

However, sometimes it comes back a little if I'm stressed, but never as bad
as initially.

What works wonders, like magic, is pink noise, I do it every time I have a setback, it fixes my hyperacusis in 24 hours.

 

[chinup]

I had extremely bad hyperacusis, like can't shower and no fan bad...

Now I can drive my motorcycle.

However, sometimes it comes back a little if I'm stressed, but never as bad
as initially.

What works wonders, like magic, is pink noise, I do it every time I have a setback, it fixes my hyperacusis in 24 hours.

How long did it take for the hyperacusis to subside? I keep having setbacks right when it seems like I'm truly recovering. Pink noise has helped a lot but I still can't seem to get over the hump and beat this. It's been about 2.5 years with 1 major setback in June 2020 and then a (hopefully) smaller setback last week.

 

[CDNThailand]

How long did it take for the hyperacusis to subside? I keep having setbacks right when it seems like I'm truly recovering. Pink noise has helped a lot but I still can't seem to get over the hump and beat this. It's been about 2.5 years with 1 major setback in June 2020 and then a (hopefully) smaller setback last week.

Sounds easier said than done, but try to ignore it. I got busy in life and just forgot I had it. Force yourself, nothing will really happen if you stay under 70 dB. Hyperacusis is totally reversible and can go away, unlike tinnitus... ;(

 

[tenforce]

I find it very interesting to read about all the different forms and severities of hyperacusis, something I didn't even know existed a while ago.

I suspect that I have some form of one sided hyperacusis since a noise trauma 1 year ago, but I'm not entirely sure. Some sounds are just uncomfortable, are distorted and unclear, feel like physical pressure on the ear. I'm also not sure which part is psychological, because it doesn't bother me at all sometimes, where on some days it drives me crazy... Tomorrow I get an ABR done to check if it is a synapse thing.

Your stories give me hope that it might become better. In the 10 months so far, it only became worse I would say...

Does anyone have experiences with any form of medication or supplements for improving hyperacusis? I use Astaxanthin to fix synapses, but ineffective so far...

 

[CDNThailand]

I find it very interesting to read about all the different forms and severities of hyperacusis, something I didn't even know existed a while ago.

I suspect that I have some form of one sided hyperacusis since a noise trauma 1 year ago, but I'm not entirely sure. Some sounds are just uncomfortable, are distorted and unclear, feel like physical pressure on the ear. I'm also not sure which part is psychological, because it doesn't bother me at all sometimes, where on some days it drives me crazy... Tomorrow I get an ABR done to check if it is a synapse thing.

Your stories give me hope that it might become better. In the 10 months so far, it only became worse I would say...

Does anyone have experiences with any form of medication or supplements for improving hyperacusis? I use Astaxanthin to fix synapses, but ineffective so far...

It will get better, don't worry about it, I read somewhere that it gets better for like 95% of people.

 

[GoatSheep]

I find it very interesting to read about all the different forms and severities of hyperacusis, something I didn't even know existed a while ago.

I suspect that I have some form of one sided hyperacusis since a noise trauma 1 year ago, but I'm not entirely sure. Some sounds are just uncomfortable, are distorted and unclear, feel like physical pressure on the ear. I'm also not sure which part is psychological, because it doesn't bother me at all sometimes, where on some days it drives me crazy... Tomorrow I get an ABR done to check if it is a synapse thing.

Your stories give me hope that it might become better. In the 10 months so far, it only became worse I would say...

Does anyone have experiences with any form of medication or supplements for improving hyperacusis? I use Astaxanthin to fix synapses, but ineffective so far...

ABR tests can be very loud. They played a clicking noise in my ear and kept raising the volume by like 10 dB increments. I had to stop the test and the results ended up being inconclusive because of it. If you have hyperacusis I would be weary of this test.

Read through this thread for others experiences:

ABR Test — Who's Had One, What Was It LIke, Was It Helpful

 

[GoatSheep]

I find it very interesting to read about all the different forms and severities of hyperacusis, something I didn't even know existed a while ago.

I suspect that I have some form of one sided hyperacusis since a noise trauma 1 year ago, but I'm not entirely sure. Some sounds are just uncomfortable, are distorted and unclear, feel like physical pressure on the ear. I'm also not sure which part is psychological, because it doesn't bother me at all sometimes, where on some days it drives me crazy... Tomorrow I get an ABR done to check if it is a synapse thing.

Your stories give me hope that it might become better. In the 10 months so far, it only became worse I would say...

Does anyone have experiences with any form of medication or supplements for improving hyperacusis? I use Astaxanthin to fix synapses, but ineffective so far...

How did your ABR go?

 

[tenforce]

@GoatSheep, thanks for your interest! Since I don't want to hijack this thread with my case, I've written the results of my ABR in my thread:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hidden-hearing-loss-hyperacusis-after-gunshot.47074/

 

[Eleanor89]

Hello @Darrenb111, was it the Tinnitus Clinic in London? And what was the audiologist's name please?

Did you only have slight hearing loss?

Thank you.

 

[chinup]

Sounds easier said than done, but try to ignore it. I got busy in life and just forgot I had it. Force yourself, nothing will really happen if you stay under 70 dB. Hyperacusis is totally reversible and can go away, unlike tinnitus... ;(

One more question about this: did you have the type of hyperacusis that gives you burning pain for days/weeks, or were you just getting stabbing pain whenever something was too loud?

 

[GoatSheep]

The first time I got an acoustic shock it was around 10 months before I saw a noticeable improvement. Then at 18 months I got so much better I was practically normal again. I got over confident with noise though and had another acoustic shock that's getting better pain-wise at almost the exact same rate. Its a bit different though this time because I can tolerate less of certain types of noise than the first time round. I just won't be getting too confident around sound again though even after I do hopefully get back to that much better level.

I got this really bad both times. My ear felt like an open wound, fizzing, hissing, all kinds of weird distortion. It calmed down over time both times though.

What was your second acoustic shock? How loud was it?

 

[Athens]

I had extremely bad hyperacusis, like can't shower and no fan bad...

Now I can drive my motorcycle.

However, sometimes it comes back a little if I'm stressed, but never as bad
as initially.

What works wonders, like magic, is pink noise, I do it every time I have a setback, it fixes my hyperacusis in 24 hours.

How long did you have hyperacusis before you experienced improvement?

 

[Brian Newman]

I had extremely bad hyperacusis, like can't shower and no fan bad...

Now I can drive my motorcycle.

However, sometimes it comes back a little if I'm stressed, but never as bad
as initially.

What works wonders, like magic, is pink noise, I do it every time I have a setback, it fixes my hyperacusis in 24 hours.

Did you have pain or loudness hyperacusis? If it was pain hyperacusis, did you have stabbing aching or burning that was very painful? Or like everything was too loud and hurt your ears but there was no lingering pain? I have found out that in bad forms of noxacusis there usually is lingering pain and it lasts for hours after exposure.

 

[ZFire]

Did you have pain or loudness hyperacusis? If it was pain hyperacusis, did you have stabbing aching or burning that was very painful? Or like everything was too loud and hurt your ears but there was no lingering pain? I have found out that in bad forms of noxacusis there usually is lingering pain and it lasts for hours after exposure.

Loudness hyperacusis probably.

With pain hyperacusis, I'd imagine one would need to take a much more careful approach. Sound therapy seems to be hit or miss for people with pain hyperacusis, the latter being more likely.

 

[Brian Newman]

Loudness hyperacusis probably.

With pain hyperacusis, I'd imagine one would need to take a much more careful approach. Sound therapy seems to be hit or miss for people with pain hyperacusis, the latter being more likely.

Yeah I wish I never tried it. I had severe loudness hyperacusis and to me that's livable. When I get severe pain that lasts for hours it's just a whole new level. Much much worse. It's not fun man.

 

[Coyotesheaven]

Yes, I no longer have such a significant problem with loud noise...thanks to progressive hearing loss most likely. So what used to be too loud seems quiet to me now. Those sections of hair cells that were sensitized at certain frequencies must have died off...

I'm honestly not sure though if I ever had chronic hyperacusis, or just learned to fear noises that were above 80 decibels due to them acting as inner ear migraine triggers.
But a lot of noises above 70 decibels felt way too loud to me and would give me a panic attack during the years 2016-2019. Given I had far above average hearing as a child and those sounds didn't bother me back then, I do think there must have been some hyperacusis going on. That and benzodiazepine-induced sensory sensitivities, which were awful.
I used to have to wear earplugs just to have conversations at a normal volume, and sometimes even that wasn't enough to make me feel safe. I couldn't flush the toilet or even do dishes without earplugs because the sounds would overwhelm my ears and trigger a migraine. It was very hard to live in society because of this.

I still avoid loud noises as much as possible, and usually wear earplugs outside when exposed to loud environments such as street noise. But otherwise don't need them for situations where the sound levels are up to 80 decibels for a short duration. I can now go watch planes take off at close range at the airport without plugs so long as I stay in my car, one of my favorite things to do