I tell people how bad hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus can be, but they still don't buy it — those who don't have them, I mean. Ignorance is privilege, but when they're bad-bad, these conditions don't care who you are or what you're about. They can make people and the world itself kryptonite, literally, where everything is off-limits — everything — as sound is everywhere. It's built into the framework so intimately, so thoroughly, that it eradicates life when it becomes a torture device. Everything requires sound … every little thing. When every sound hurts or causes setbacks, you're incompatible. On this planet, there aren't many diseases that make the world itself and the people in it toxic allergies, where your condition gets worse if you don't hide from them; where even protection offers no resolve, no cessation of the hell you're fighting daily. That's inhuman. That's otherworldly. But the combination of hyperacusis and tinnitus are capable of that — the total, seismic destruction of everything — when they're profoundly severe. You're basically on the wrong planet.
But for some reason, they get no respect. People mock them or deny their existence, even though — in all seriousness — they're some of the worst conditions in the world when they reach severe levels. Your quality-of-life goes to 1 or 2%. You can't do anything without worsening; can't even brush your teeth or shower without worsening; can't be around people; can't work; can't even get disability rights because the world doesn't buy it. You're in a state of quicksand, fighting for your life. When they're severe, it's one of the absolute worst situations a person could ever find themselves in, no exaggeration. You're treading on grounds that no mere mortal has ever seen before: displacement from reality; total abandonment from all corners, nooks and crannies, every angle possible. Your life is consigned to hiding. That's all you can do. You're playing hide-and-seek for the remainder of your days, but no one's "it." It's just you, alone, playing with yourself ... a thing of hellish torture.
In life, I used to believe that paradoxes couldn't happen, but I'm beginning to recant that. What we have here — in a raw, demented form — is a true paradox, one that stifles the very construct of creation. If you have hyperacusis or tinnitus, guard them with your life. Do everything you can NOT to worsen. Whatever you lose, you may never get it back. Don't take any risks. If you do, you could meet the darkest shades or shadows that the human experience has to offer — total abandonment, where you lose your place on planet Earth; your sacred, precious life. This is my story; my downfall. Don't be like me. If you have a livable life with mild or moderate symptoms, be happy (if you can). Don't test fate. Let time be your hopeful healer. That's the safest, most secure strategy. But trying therapies could potentially be your downfall, like it was for me. It can lead to a state of degeneration that has no end in sight, where you can't climb out of it. I've talked to so many people who wish they could go back and change things, never trying anything.
Sadly, intervention can be bad with these diseases, even though that runs contrary to most diseases and logic. Usually, intervention is necessary for a disease. There's nothing normal, logical, or human about severe tinnitus and hyperacusis, though. They're on a different level. They defy the laws of nature. With hyperacusis and tinnitus, you can't even trust the doctors usually. These unfortunate, perverse truths are not always true, though, which makes it even worse. Some people can genuinely find things that help, but there's no way to know until you try, and for a lot of people I've talked to, trying was their downfall. So either possibility is relevant. But it's tragic and sad that you're forced to play Russian roulette to find out which is true for you. The shapeshifting qualities of hyperacusis and tinnitus make them unconscionable, and profoundly evil. Best thing to do is keep what you've got if you're mild or moderate. Don't gamble it. You can learn to be happy with time if you're just mild or moderate, maybe even low severe.