Hyperacusis and Tinnitus Following Acoustic Shock: How Can I Continue My Life?

Hello,

I apologize for any mistakes; I am not a native English speaker. I am a 28-year-old woman who developed tinnitus and loudness hyperacusis on July 10th, 2024, following an acoustic shock. In addition to the tinnitus, I sometimes feel pressure in my inner ear and jaw, although this sensation doesn't last long. I also experience spasms in my left ear in response to certain sounds.

Since then, my life has become a nightmare. I cry from morning until night and am on sick leave. Whenever I go outside, I wear silicone earplugs and use earmuffs when taking public transportation.

I don't know how to manage these conditions. My tinnitus is not very loud—I'd rate it around a 3 out of 10—and I only hear it in quiet rooms. However, the hyperacusis is very disruptive and difficult to cope with.

I am considering undergoing a Low-Level Tinnitus Therapy (LTTT) session at a clinic, but I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this situation.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. I know the feeling all too well at 32. What was your acoustic trauma? Have you been evaluated by an ENT or audiologist in your country?

 

Wear earplugs around loud noise. If you don't have any pain and your tinnitus is mild, you will be fine.

 

I had an audiogram with an ENT specialist, who said my hearing was fine. The acoustic trauma I experienced was caused by an impulse noise from a beam in my building. This beam is made of iron, and when I closed it, it produced a very loud noise. The beam is located in a very small room, and the door was closed at the time.

I do occasionally feel pain, as if something was piercing my ear.

 

Loudness hyperacusis and Tensor Tympani issues can take a long time to improve. Most people notice a reduction in symptoms within 6 months to two years, so it's important to adjust your expectations. Shifting your mindset can help you better cope with the situation. Your ears need time to heal. I recommend investing in good earplugs and keeping them in your car or on your keychain for easy access in case you suddenly need them. I particularly recommend Loop earplugs, which you can find on Amazon—people hardly even notice you're wearing them.

My condition has "calmed down," but it still reacts to something almost daily.

Stay positive. Tinnitus is hell in and of itself, but if you put the work in, you can manage it!

 

Thank you very much for your reply and support. Did you have hyperacusis? How did you manage living with it? Do you still use earplugs in your daily life?

 

I have a very mild form, but combined with tinnitus, it serves to distress me. I have to wear earplugs when doing things where I'd be at risk. That includes baths, playing with the baby, outside venues, etc.

 

Lol, who are most people? Where are you getting that from?

Just be careful. Rest your ears in silence when you can. Don't risk loud noise in the foreseeable future. Always listen to your body.

 

It’s a simple fact: most people with mild tinnitus or mild hyperacusis aren’t bothered enough to seek treatment. For those who do, most see improvement within a reasonable timeframe.

Tinnitus Talk is not a representative sample of the general population. Scaring or increasing the anxiety of someone who has only had the condition for a couple of months is not helpful.

I believe the time window for improvement can be found with a quick Google search, and I have no reason to doubt it—especially considering that the vast majority of cases likely go undiagnosed because they don’t bother the person enough to report. Some may notice that sounds seem off, but not everyone with the condition needs to wear double hearing protection. Scaring people by implying that their condition is as severe as the worst cases doesn’t help them or their recovery because it’s simply not rational.

I bet the OP will do just fine with sound therapy. While their symptoms may be uncomfortable, they are still functioning for the most part, and their symptoms align with the reported cause.

I recommend that the OP read this document to understand better what’s happening. However, they should defer to their clinic for treatment and remain hopeful. While things may never be perfect and could take some adjustment, they will most likely be completely fine in the future with proper protection.

 

Your advice isn't helpful; it could be dangerous. You have no idea what noxacusis is like. I took the advice that you are spouting, and it has worsened me considerably.

 

What you are saying is nonsensical and not true, as most tinnitus sufferers are not studied. Don't make up statements. Post research or say 'in my opinion' because that is all you say here.

 

The advice may not be helpful to you.

However, my recommendations are based on credible research and are standard practice in reputable ENT and audiology clinics for recovering from hyperacusis. According to the OP’s account, they are suffering but can still engage in fairly normal activities with the use of hearing protection. Therefore, there is no reason to assume they are doomed to a life of silence and constant ear protection.

Your individual case is anecdotal. While I sympathize with the fact that research-backed suggestions have not worked for you, projecting your severe case and personal theories onto others is harmful. It may push people who are already in a fragile emotional state further into hopelessness.

Most people, especially after just two months, have no reason to believe they are permanently consigned to severe hyperacusis or intolerable symptoms, as many of your posts suggest.

What is nonsensical?

It’s a fact that most people with tinnitus are not significantly bothered by it. I’ve seen estimates suggesting that 9-15% of the world’s population has tinnitus, but only 2-3% of that subset experiences chronic, bothersome tinnitus.

Tinnitus is often underreported because many people don’t seek medical treatment for it. Tinnitus and tinnitus distress exist on a spectrum. There is no reason to believe that hyperacusis doesn’t follow a similar pattern, especially considering that many places lack awareness of it, let alone the ability to treat it effectively.

Some people may need minor ear protection for a short period and eventually return to their normal activities. Others may struggle to function in society. Still, some would benefit from evidence-based therapies (like the person with acoustic shock mentioned earlier), which are widely available if they weren't too afraid to try them.

It’s inappropriate to assume every case is the same or to frighten others by implying that one person’s extreme experience of requiring complete silence is everyone’s fate. Unfortunately, this forum tends to attract the most severe cases of tinnitus and hyperacusis. As a result, someone new to tinnitus or hyperacusis might be overwhelmed by posts, particularly in the "Suicidal" thread, suggesting that there is no hope and that their life is over.

 

People with mild tinnitus tend to exit Tinnitus Talk after a few short months swiftly.

I think these mild cases' exposure to the horrors of severe tinnitus serves as a good warning to protect their now fragile ears.

 

Would it?

I think the idea could be framed differently:

What would a psychologist say about exposing someone to depressing or suicidal content while they are experiencing severe emotional and mental distress? Meanwhile, they are also being bombarded with well-meaning but inaccurate messages that their likely first serious health condition is hopeless and will condemn them to a life of misery.

Would the psychologist share that same sentiment?

 

You are talking nonsense. They have already spoken about having pain from sound, which can easily get worse.

If you are mild, why are you here?

 

@IYIiKe, I am happy for you that you are not a severe case; honestly, I am. I also hope you don't end up returning to Tinnitus Talk in the depths of despair, having to deal with pain hyperacusis or severe tinnitus.

Be happy you are not in that state.

But please do not 'lecture' severe cases about 'well-meaning' and accurate warnings given to new cases that are showing indicators of potentially being on that track.

A forewarning is better than no warning.

This narrative is not uncommon on Tinnitus Talk:

1) New case posts, exhibiting signs they could become severe.
2) Severe case posts, warning of what could happen, advising to be careful.
3) Mild case posts, telling OP to ignore advice of severe case.
4) Mild case and severe case argue over their polar opposite advice.

@Hyperacusis, I'm sorry you are getting conflicting advice here. It's one of the common traits of tinnitus sufferers.

Ultimately, they are your ears and it's your tinnitus you'll need to live with.

There is certainly less risk in being more cautious for now.

Be scared; it might just protect you.

 

I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm currently 15 months into dealing with this condition, and I hope some of my experiences might help you.

As strange as it may sound, try to be grateful that it's not worse. This mindset helped me, even though I experienced hyperacusis, dysacusis, hearing loss, and severe tinnitus after my acoustic trauma. I reminded myself that I could have been deaf—it can always be worse.

Be mindful of your self-talk. Don't let thoughts like, "My life is over, I'll never get better, this is a nightmare, I want to kill myself," take control. Instead, train your inner voice to be supportive, like a friend would be: "You'll get through this. Today, you had five good minutes; tomorrow, you'll have 8. You can handle this. You're so strong. I'm proud of you."

I found it helpful to use white noise whenever possible—at home, at work, and in the bedroom at night. It seems the auditory system needs time to recalibrate, and the white noise helped take my focus off the tinnitus.

Hearing protection is absolutely crucial. It’s an injury to the auditory system, and it should be treated as such. Don't push yourself through loud sounds. Protect your ears and give yourself time to heal, just as you would with a broken leg. But be aware that ears take much longer to heal than a broken bone.

At night, I tried to engage other sensory systems. Breathe deeply. Use a lavender pillow to focus on the smell instead of the sound. Feel the texture of the blanket with your toes. By splitting your awareness across different senses, you have less focus left for the ear issues.

The most important rule is: don’t make it worse. You will make progress over the next months, so don’t throw it away by being overconfident. I downloaded a decibel meter app to gauge how loud certain places are and gradually increased my exposure. Be careful with noise exposure.

After nine months, I was doing quite well. Some frequencies in my hearing even returned. However, I became less cautious about loud noises and experienced a major setback. The tinnitus became much worse than it had been initially, and it still is. So be especially cautious of sudden loud noises.

I recommend developing strategies for the key areas of your life. How will you support your sleep? How will you manage your condition at work? How can you still meet friends or pursue hobbies? It’s important not to lose sight of living. I had to give up many of my hobbies, but there's still a lot I can do.

Lastly, try to find a specialist who supports you, whether it's an ENT, a neurotologist, or someone else. Having someone you can turn to is invaluable. My ENT specializes in tinnitus and hyperacusis, and I can even contact him via WhatsApp on Sundays. That kind of support helps a lot.

I wish you all the best. You will make progress—just be patient with yourself.

Greetings from Austria,
Stoic

 

Read between the lines. They’re two months in and only now considering seeking help from a clinic, which I’d bet will offer sound therapy. Instead of supporting efforts to improve, people are just sharing their own personal misery and overlooking the fact that this person, while protecting their ears, has still been able to live their life.

I have severe tinnitus and mild loudness hyperacusis. I'm not sure what you mean by "being here." Severe sufferers are the minority among those with the condition. Yet, the same people complaining in one thread about how no one cares or isn’t researching fast enough are the ones telling others they don’t belong or can’t offer a valid perspective. These people insist that if it's not "severe" or "worst case," it doesn’t count just because it’s "not as bad as theirs." This isn’t a competition of who’s suffering more.

What’s frustrating is that my posts have been moderated for mentioning this contradiction. Yet, others are allowed to gatekeep and act like you need to reach a certain level of misery to be qualified to advise while spreading misinformation unchecked. It's appalling.

 

Yes, protection is key. Mine has just continued to get worse in the past 25 years, and over the past 2 1/2 years since it went severe. Some people might improve, at least temporarily, only to end up back here later. Most people who I talk to about it say it gets worse, as it consistently has for me.

 

This is how it really is: protection is essential. Even with the best hearing protection, I wouldn't attend a concert or any other loud event today. About a month and a half ago, I felt falsely secure at a DJ event. I didn’t find it loud while wearing my custom high-attenuation earplugs and thought I was safe. But I realized something wasn’t quite right when I took them out.

Once you have hyperacusis, you need to be cautious. I believe the brain plays a role in setting off alarms because, subconsciously, you perceive yourself as in danger. This differs from people with normal hearing, where auditory processing still functions properly.

In the 21 years since developing hyperacusis, I've encountered this issue about four or five times. You can’t always prevent it, but you must understand that you can’t do everything anymore, especially with loud noise. That frustrating DJ event, which I didn’t even want to attend and wasn’t even good—how irritating. Hearing protection had worked in the past, but maybe too much sound got through via bone conduction this time, or perhaps I’m just becoming more sensitive.

 

Thank you all for your support and for answering my questions. I really appreciate it, especially during these tough times.

I try to protect myself with silicone earplugs and a Peltor X4. At work, I wear foam earplugs because there are a lot of ringing phones and alarms at 70 dB.

I've also noticed that I've developed another issue. For example, when I hear a repetitive sound (like an alarm clock), the same tone continues to ring in my ears for minutes or even hours afterward. Do you have any idea what might be happening?

Thanks.

 

Yes, I've experienced that as well. Not right now, but I'm familiar with it. For example, after showering or driving, certain sounds seem to take on a life of their own. However, this went away over time.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. How much time did it take to go away?

 

It's hard to say, but I think it lasted about 3-4 months before it disappeared. I believe that's when the hearing is severely overstimulated and seeks balance. Right now, my tinnitus simply follows along with a voice, for example, but then it returns to its usual frequency.

 

Yeah, I used to think like this before I got noxacusis. Now I know I should have listened to those who were severe and not to those who still say crap like, "It isn't a competition who's suffering more." I hope you don't end up experiencing how bad this all can get.

I was referring to you claiming most people get better in 6 to 24 months, which is bollocks; there is no evidence of this.

 

Just like tinnitus, most people improve in that time frame.

 

There is no evidence to support this claim.

 

What exactly are you expecting me to produce for you here?

There seems to be significant cognitive dissonance in this forum at times. Hyperacusis research is still in its infancy, and the quality is far from ideal, yet people seem to expect fully comprehensive articles without contributing any of their own. The original post mentions an acoustic shock, and Wescott's article, which was provided, remains one of the leading resources on treatment and rehabilitation. She even runs an entire clinic dedicated specifically to helping those with acoustic shock recover from hyperacusis.

If you google the prevalence of hyperacusis, you'll find hundreds of peer-reviewed articles with varying statistics, ranging from as low as 0.2% to as high as 60% of the population.

For instance, let's look at this NIH article.

The introduction mentions that 8 to 15% of the adult population has hyperacusis, depending on the definition used.

It's reasonable to assume there would be much greater awareness if every single person with hyperacusis failed to improve over time. Severe or catastrophic tinnitus is extremely rare, especially cases that do not improve.

Telling someone who has only had it for two months (which is still very early in terms of auditory healing) that they are doomed or will worsen if they seek treatment is not helpful.

Most people with hyperacusis improve to the point where it no longer significantly affects them, or else the health systems in our countries would be overwhelmed. Having hyperacusis does not necessarily mean having catastrophic hyperacusis. It's harmful to project one's own severity onto others.

 

Thank you for your message.

As the days go by, my condition is getting worse. I now have a new form of tinnitus that mimics the digital voice I heard on the train. The voice says, "Next stop is..." Have you ever experienced something like this?

Thank you.

 

I mean this sincerely, and it may be related in some way, but you might need to consult a psychiatrist. It's possible you're experiencing something beyond tinnitus or hyperacusis.

Tinnitus and hyperacusis typically don't cause that kind of sound recall, so you could be having auditory hallucinations.

Also, consider reviewing your diet and sleep habits.

Best wishes.