High-Pitched Tinnitus Reacts to External Sounds & Hyperacusis → Unable to Distract Myself

Hello,

I have had hyperacusis and tinnitus that reacts to external sounds for about two months. I have tried listening to crickets, masking apps, low volume TV, etc and the tinnitus just gets louder so I gave that up. The hyperacusis seems to be getting worse. At first it was high pitch noise that bothered me and now it seems to be so many sounds, like turning page of a book. Sounds seem louder and uncomfortable. I feel pulling in my ears and sometimes they feel warm. I have not been out except for unhelpful doctor appointments. I do have a busy household though. I can't find comfortable earplugs/earmuffs. The earmuffs seem too tight on face and feel like they are compressing my facial nerves. My ears feel very sensitive to earplugs. I have not been overprotecting and I am careful with noise around the house, trying to avoid any loud noise exposure. But everything has noise! The hyperacusis and reactive nature of tinnitus make it impossible to escape the high-pitched hiss of the tinnitus.

Questions I have:

1. What are the most comfortable earplugs/earmuffs?
2. Should I be wearing earplugs around the house? Like even flushing the toilet seems loud.

I saw a research article from Mass Eye and Ear saying tinnitus/hyperacusis are probably related to nerve damage. How do I proceed if the audiologist I saw told me my ears were not damaged because the hearing test was normal, and that I should just try TRT. I said no - I'm concerned because of the hyperacusis and a normal hearing test does not mean your ears are not damaged.

Since we seem to be left on our own, what is the best way to proceed? With hyperacusis/reactive tinnitus, should I have earplugs on at home or is that overprotecting?

Are there any good coping mechanisms?

Thank you.

 

If you don't want your tinnitus to get worse, protect your ears. Flushing toilet and kitchen noises are loud.

If in doubt, PROTECT!

There is no way of knowing if you will improve and at what rate.

What is certain is that if you expose too much, you are likely to get worse reactivity, hyperacusis and tinnitus.

Audiologists know diddly-squat about reactivity and more serious forms of tinnitus. They are trained robots that will say "these sounds cannot damage your ears" which is a load of s**t.

Good luck.

 

Welcome to the forum @garden. I like your user name. I am a gardener. Gardening is one the ways to get my brain distracted from paying attention to the tinnitus. I have a loud jet-engine like tinnitus on my left deaf ear and a dentist drill like high-pitched tinnitus on my right ear. I also had hyperacusis twice. Yes, every noise seems too loud, even the soft voice of my wife. Luckily, like many hyperacusis sufferers, it lasts for about 9 months to a year and then it slowly fades away each time.

Try to protect but be prudent to avoid developing a sound sensitivity problem. I protected when going out to louder places but I braved normal ambient sounds of the environment. Gradual exposure to normal sounds can help harden your ears so eventually they don't hurt as much.

Hang in there. It will get better. Be patient. Give it time. God bless.

 

Did you protect whilst driving?

 

I have exactly the same as you, including suspected nerve damage and the sensation that earplugs and ear defenders put pressure on the facial nerves, and nerves inside the ear canal - in my case this triggers muscle spasms in the throat.

Its' been 14 months now and I am still learning.

I found the more silence I am in - I live alone in a very silent environment - the worse it seems to get.

The best days for me so far are when I spend the day before travelling somewhere - it isn't residual inhibition - but the pitch changes to hissing for 2 days.

Unfortunately, as @Jupiterman says, audiologists know NOTHING. Truly nothing. Also tinnitus is in the brain, not the ear, so you don't have to do more damage to the ears to make tinnitus worse. Audiologists and ENTs saying that something that won't damage the ears, won't damage the tinnitus, is one of the most dangerously spread pieces of misinformation out there.

You can make tinnitus change or worsen without damaging the ears.

As for best earplugs, the only thing you could try are silicone putty ones from Amazon that mould in to your ears without going inside the canal - or touching the facial nerve to stop that trigger. These cause me the least reaction.

I wear headphones around the house to flush the toilet, boil the kettle, wash up or use the microwave - just over ear headphones to dampen high pitch dB. Other than that I do not wear hearing protection in the house.

Unfortunately you just have to find what's right for you as no two people are the same.

My tinnitus is severe and the reactivity very high, and I have just recently taken my first flight, so things are doable.

 

Yes and no. During the 1st hyperacusis episode, it was a new frightening experience, not knowing when the nightmare would end. I literally overprotected by buying $200 worth of various forms of high-end earplugs from Germany. I wore earplugs while driving regardless of road conditions.

But during the 2nd hyperacusis episode, I wasn't as frightened by it. So I only protected while driving on bumpy roads, especially those bumpy roads while going fishing in the outdoor. I was told that allowing the ears to be exposed to normal ambient sounds of the environment will help speed up the recovery. So I tried to tolerate normal sounds more, including engine sounds. But my car windows are always closed to avoid sudden car horning or truck noises.

 

Thank you everyone for your support. I will try your suggestions.

This is so excruciating. I'm trying to get through each day. I just want to run out the door and escape this. It seems impossible. The tinnitus never stops. My sound tolerance is very low right now. I do get earaches sometimes and that scares me.

Did you have to move? That would seem impossible right now. The road noise is too much and there are planes that go overhead.

Sorry for all my complaints. I'm just so low right now.

 

Hello,

So it’s been seven months, and I am feeling so low.

At first, the hyperacusis made my ears feel hot and ache. It seems that it progressed, and most of the sounds that bothered me went straight through my ears and to my head. It’s like I get jabs of head pain. I also get headaches that last for hours. Ordinary sounds like opening mail, keys, dishes, etc., cause pain in my head.

The tinnitus has only gotten worse. I have between 5 and 7 tones in both ears and my head. The tinnitus has been reactive, has copied sounds, and I have even had musical ear syndrome. I have been staying at home, not exposing myself to loud noise. I don’t watch TV, use headphones, or talk on cell phones. I use primarily earplugs that mold over the outside of the ear canal if I go outside for 10-15 minutes. Earmuffs increase the headaches because of the pressure, and foam earplugs cause ear pain and pressure, so I try to avoid those.

I’m so tired of the relentless tinnitus and the hyperacusis. I’m missing out on life.