Hello,
I am a 24-year-old male from Finland, and I have been suffering (not all the time) from some kind of hyperacusis since February 2018. I have been "lurking" on these forums since May this year (2021), but finally decided to register. I will go through and provide some details about all the traumas/setbacks AND good periods I have experienced through these years, I believe this will be a pretty lengthy post. Also, English is not my first language so expect some errors.
First of I would like to say that before the first noise trauma, I did NOT live a silent or peaceful life. I started going to parties at a early age of 15 years old (fairly common in my country) with very loud music. Me and my friends had or went to parties about 2 times a month. I also started driving moped as 15 years old, and motorcycle at 16. Both of these were loud but especially the 2-stroke motorcycle (125 cc) I drove as 16-18-year-old. Me and my friends were also very interested in anything motor related and most of us had our own cars (not registered) as 16 year olds, we drove mostly on frozen lakes at winter (without mufflers/silencers, because that was cool, right?). Also I have always been gaming and listening to music with headphones.
First trauma (February 2018)
Alright now to the first experience of my ear problems. I worked at a metal industry while we had a week off from school. I remember I had to modify a metal piece, and I did so using an angle grinder. The grinding was loud but as it only would take about 25 seconds to cut trough it I did not get my ear protection. I had been using an angle grinder before without any ear protection hundreds of times before and I did not think about it much at the time. I did not notice anything that day, not in work, not while home where it was silent. This was Monday.
Then came the day after. Immediately when I woke up I noticed something was wrong. Every sound that I heard had a extra sound to it (in my left ear). Everything from turning in the bed and the bed sheets making sound to loud things in the work had sound distortions. I really panicked and had no idea what I was experiencing. I kept on working Tuesday and Wednesday (with ear protection now). But I did not see any improvements so I booked an appointment to the ENT. Later that same week I also experienced the "Broken speaker" effect, to any sounds louder than a human voice.
Monday, one week after my trauma (6 days since symptoms) I did see the ENT doctor, and that's the first time I heard the word hyperacusis. He prescribed Prednisolone and told me to be very careful with my ears in the future. I should have listened...
I took my Prednisolone, for 2 weeks starting with 40 mg and tapering. I cannot say if time and silence or the Prednisolone helped me, but I did get better and about 5 weeks after the trauma I did not have any problems at all left. I had not read anything about hyperacusis at this time, and I did not think ANYTHING about it at all after I was better.
Second trauma (January 2019)
As previously said, I did not think about my ears much after my first trauma as they got better so fast, so I continued to live as usual. Me and my friends sat at a bar drinking and chatting. The bar had a live performance of some local DJ and we sat relatively close to the speakers. And suddenly I could feel my ear (left again) reacting to the music. I instantly knew what this was as it was almost exactly as the first trauma, only this time it started right away and not the day after. I left the bar as soon as I noticed the sound distortions and was a little panicked. I hoped that it would get better the next day, but it was worse.
This time I also contacted the same ENT doctor and I took Prednisolone again, for two weeks. While I did get a little better (do not know if from Prednisolone or time/silence) it was not good. I had sound distortions on and off about 9 months, the first 3 months were definitely worse. And while working in the summer (May to August) it was a little bumpy, as some days/weeks it was better and some a little worse. It was not until September when the schools started I really improved. This time I also noticed a little tinnitus for the first months (maybe 2 or 3). Oh and the ENT also prescribed BetaSerc after it did not get better (maybe 2 months after the January visit)
After this time I knew I had to be more careful and protect my ears and try to avoid really loud places. From September and onward I lived a normal life, I went to school, went to friends, did semi-loud things (with ear protection) e.g. being in the garage. I did not notice any sound distortions at all.
Third trauma (July 2020)
This time I really thought I had learned to protect my ears, but apparently not good enough. I were driving one of my friends car, that had a better sound system (including a bass) installed. And as I drove them to a bar for a 15 minute ride, they blasted music through this sound system, they asked me if it was too loud but I said "Naah I got my earplugs in" as I did not want to be a "partypooper". Well, it was too loud... I guess it was the bass that was way too loud as earplugs does not really reduce low bass sounds. The day after I noticed tinnitus, loudest I had ever experienced but still not loud at all (had to be in a silent room to hear it clearly). And the day after that the sound distortions began again. These distortions are the worst I've had so far I thing, I reacted to everything, and just the wind made it worse and unbearable. This time I did not take any Prednisolone as the ENT was on vacation and I did not bother going to any other doctor to get the prescription renewed.
I took 2 weeks of the summer work off to rest my ears after this trauma, and that did help a lot I think. My ears healed relatively quickly but about 2.5 months after the (3rd) trauma it got a little worse again, but this time in both ears, and a little bit of very mild pain in the worse ear (left). This only lasted about 2 weeks. After these 2 "extra" weeks of problems, I was again much better, no pain, no distortions and no tinnitus. So good that I again did not think about my ears.
Fourth trauma (April 2021)
The fourth trauma is a little bit odd, so far all the times I could easily tell what caused the ear problems. This time I think it was multiple factors that contributed to my ears getting bad again (is it a trauma?)
Those were:
a semi-loud car I sat in + A semi-loud home party (with earplugs) + A wood splitter that me and my dad used for 2 weekends (both earplugs and earmuffs). Similar to the other times, I got the symptoms a day or two after the last of these happenings. This time the tinnitus was louder, like a really low rumble. The sound distortions was very similar to the other times. I did the same things as usual, Prednisolone for 2 weeks and tried to rest my ears.
I was getting better but I got a "setback" about 1.5 months after (mid May) where I got tinnitus for the first time in my "good ear" and sound distortions back to bad. The following weeks I also got pain in my left (bad) ear. This pain was mostly the "burning pain" but I also had some of the "direct pain", as in the pain came at the same time as the sound came, while the burning pain came a time after. The pain lasted for maybe 4 weeks, then disappeared.
The whole summer of 2021 was pretty bad, in summary: April, May and June was bad, July was kinda 50/50, I started to do alot more things with friends again, swimming, watching movies (not high volume) and so on. August and September were good, as in I did not think about the problems everyday, I still was very protective and avoided louder happenings, but I again lived pretty normal.
Then I got another (my latest) setback or trauma again last month (beginning of October.) Probably from a Rally event in my village + a party with around 50 people at my girlfriends work ("Open house" with drinking at night), I used earplugs and earmuffs at the rally event and earplugs at the party. I'm again at a pretty bad state with pain and sound distortions.
That's pretty much my story, this can be seen as an introduction and at the same time maybe a "success" story if you can call it that. Because I have multiple times gotten bad, but always (so far and hopefully also in the future) been getting better. In the months between these traumas/setbacks I have lived a (in my opinion) normal life with no symptoms at all. And that is what I see as a success! So don't give up hope!
TL;DR:
I am a person with some kind of hyperacusis (mostly sound distortions, and some pain). I have had many bad times, but also healed in between these bad times. Healed so much that I would say I have lived a normal life.
The things I have done to speed up the healing process is:
Also another thing to consider is that what I consider as loud or silent, another person might not. For example I live in a small village where I can go for walks in the forest, and I would consider that relatively silent here. But as someone in for example NYC I cannot understand how they would ever get any "silence" in their apartment. And that might be a factor to when and where to wear ear protection.
Side note: I do also grind my teeth a little bit, and also got some neck problems. I do not know if these have made my ear problems worse or not. Should maybe look more into these.
If anyone got more tips, please tell me and I might try them! I am also happy to answer any questions, I would never call myself an expert but I have experienced this for some years now on and off.
// Daystar
I am a 24-year-old male from Finland, and I have been suffering (not all the time) from some kind of hyperacusis since February 2018. I have been "lurking" on these forums since May this year (2021), but finally decided to register. I will go through and provide some details about all the traumas/setbacks AND good periods I have experienced through these years, I believe this will be a pretty lengthy post. Also, English is not my first language so expect some errors.
First of I would like to say that before the first noise trauma, I did NOT live a silent or peaceful life. I started going to parties at a early age of 15 years old (fairly common in my country) with very loud music. Me and my friends had or went to parties about 2 times a month. I also started driving moped as 15 years old, and motorcycle at 16. Both of these were loud but especially the 2-stroke motorcycle (125 cc) I drove as 16-18-year-old. Me and my friends were also very interested in anything motor related and most of us had our own cars (not registered) as 16 year olds, we drove mostly on frozen lakes at winter (without mufflers/silencers, because that was cool, right?). Also I have always been gaming and listening to music with headphones.
First trauma (February 2018)
Alright now to the first experience of my ear problems. I worked at a metal industry while we had a week off from school. I remember I had to modify a metal piece, and I did so using an angle grinder. The grinding was loud but as it only would take about 25 seconds to cut trough it I did not get my ear protection. I had been using an angle grinder before without any ear protection hundreds of times before and I did not think about it much at the time. I did not notice anything that day, not in work, not while home where it was silent. This was Monday.
Then came the day after. Immediately when I woke up I noticed something was wrong. Every sound that I heard had a extra sound to it (in my left ear). Everything from turning in the bed and the bed sheets making sound to loud things in the work had sound distortions. I really panicked and had no idea what I was experiencing. I kept on working Tuesday and Wednesday (with ear protection now). But I did not see any improvements so I booked an appointment to the ENT. Later that same week I also experienced the "Broken speaker" effect, to any sounds louder than a human voice.
Monday, one week after my trauma (6 days since symptoms) I did see the ENT doctor, and that's the first time I heard the word hyperacusis. He prescribed Prednisolone and told me to be very careful with my ears in the future. I should have listened...
I took my Prednisolone, for 2 weeks starting with 40 mg and tapering. I cannot say if time and silence or the Prednisolone helped me, but I did get better and about 5 weeks after the trauma I did not have any problems at all left. I had not read anything about hyperacusis at this time, and I did not think ANYTHING about it at all after I was better.
Second trauma (January 2019)
As previously said, I did not think about my ears much after my first trauma as they got better so fast, so I continued to live as usual. Me and my friends sat at a bar drinking and chatting. The bar had a live performance of some local DJ and we sat relatively close to the speakers. And suddenly I could feel my ear (left again) reacting to the music. I instantly knew what this was as it was almost exactly as the first trauma, only this time it started right away and not the day after. I left the bar as soon as I noticed the sound distortions and was a little panicked. I hoped that it would get better the next day, but it was worse.
This time I also contacted the same ENT doctor and I took Prednisolone again, for two weeks. While I did get a little better (do not know if from Prednisolone or time/silence) it was not good. I had sound distortions on and off about 9 months, the first 3 months were definitely worse. And while working in the summer (May to August) it was a little bumpy, as some days/weeks it was better and some a little worse. It was not until September when the schools started I really improved. This time I also noticed a little tinnitus for the first months (maybe 2 or 3). Oh and the ENT also prescribed BetaSerc after it did not get better (maybe 2 months after the January visit)
After this time I knew I had to be more careful and protect my ears and try to avoid really loud places. From September and onward I lived a normal life, I went to school, went to friends, did semi-loud things (with ear protection) e.g. being in the garage. I did not notice any sound distortions at all.
Third trauma (July 2020)
This time I really thought I had learned to protect my ears, but apparently not good enough. I were driving one of my friends car, that had a better sound system (including a bass) installed. And as I drove them to a bar for a 15 minute ride, they blasted music through this sound system, they asked me if it was too loud but I said "Naah I got my earplugs in" as I did not want to be a "partypooper". Well, it was too loud... I guess it was the bass that was way too loud as earplugs does not really reduce low bass sounds. The day after I noticed tinnitus, loudest I had ever experienced but still not loud at all (had to be in a silent room to hear it clearly). And the day after that the sound distortions began again. These distortions are the worst I've had so far I thing, I reacted to everything, and just the wind made it worse and unbearable. This time I did not take any Prednisolone as the ENT was on vacation and I did not bother going to any other doctor to get the prescription renewed.
I took 2 weeks of the summer work off to rest my ears after this trauma, and that did help a lot I think. My ears healed relatively quickly but about 2.5 months after the (3rd) trauma it got a little worse again, but this time in both ears, and a little bit of very mild pain in the worse ear (left). This only lasted about 2 weeks. After these 2 "extra" weeks of problems, I was again much better, no pain, no distortions and no tinnitus. So good that I again did not think about my ears.
Fourth trauma (April 2021)
The fourth trauma is a little bit odd, so far all the times I could easily tell what caused the ear problems. This time I think it was multiple factors that contributed to my ears getting bad again (is it a trauma?)
Those were:
a semi-loud car I sat in + A semi-loud home party (with earplugs) + A wood splitter that me and my dad used for 2 weekends (both earplugs and earmuffs). Similar to the other times, I got the symptoms a day or two after the last of these happenings. This time the tinnitus was louder, like a really low rumble. The sound distortions was very similar to the other times. I did the same things as usual, Prednisolone for 2 weeks and tried to rest my ears.
I was getting better but I got a "setback" about 1.5 months after (mid May) where I got tinnitus for the first time in my "good ear" and sound distortions back to bad. The following weeks I also got pain in my left (bad) ear. This pain was mostly the "burning pain" but I also had some of the "direct pain", as in the pain came at the same time as the sound came, while the burning pain came a time after. The pain lasted for maybe 4 weeks, then disappeared.
The whole summer of 2021 was pretty bad, in summary: April, May and June was bad, July was kinda 50/50, I started to do alot more things with friends again, swimming, watching movies (not high volume) and so on. August and September were good, as in I did not think about the problems everyday, I still was very protective and avoided louder happenings, but I again lived pretty normal.
Then I got another (my latest) setback or trauma again last month (beginning of October.) Probably from a Rally event in my village + a party with around 50 people at my girlfriends work ("Open house" with drinking at night), I used earplugs and earmuffs at the rally event and earplugs at the party. I'm again at a pretty bad state with pain and sound distortions.
That's pretty much my story, this can be seen as an introduction and at the same time maybe a "success" story if you can call it that. Because I have multiple times gotten bad, but always (so far and hopefully also in the future) been getting better. In the months between these traumas/setbacks I have lived a (in my opinion) normal life with no symptoms at all. And that is what I see as a success! So don't give up hope!
TL;DR:
I am a person with some kind of hyperacusis (mostly sound distortions, and some pain). I have had many bad times, but also healed in between these bad times. Healed so much that I would say I have lived a normal life.
The things I have done to speed up the healing process is:
- Taken the Prednisolone course of 2 weeks when I have had traumas.
- Been taking the BetaSerc almost all time since 2nd trauma.
- Rested my ears, especially right after a trauma/setback, wearing earplugs when driving and being at loud places (I think every person needs to find their own "comfort zone", I have not been wearing earplugs at home but that may be different for everyone I think).
- Neck massages.
- Talking to parents/girlfriend/friends about the problems.
- Try to relax, I know this is hard, but I think if you panic all the time it only worsens the symptoms.
Also another thing to consider is that what I consider as loud or silent, another person might not. For example I live in a small village where I can go for walks in the forest, and I would consider that relatively silent here. But as someone in for example NYC I cannot understand how they would ever get any "silence" in their apartment. And that might be a factor to when and where to wear ear protection.
Side note: I do also grind my teeth a little bit, and also got some neck problems. I do not know if these have made my ear problems worse or not. Should maybe look more into these.
If anyone got more tips, please tell me and I might try them! I am also happy to answer any questions, I would never call myself an expert but I have experienced this for some years now on and off.
// Daystar
I also started going to the local gym which is very affordable and a nice change from my daily walking which I have been doing since January! I do tend to go pretty late to the gym though, this is to avoid rush hours when it can get pretty loud at the gym.
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