Hyperacusis and Tinnitus Going Too Far...

[Saxopon]

Hello everybody, I'm 22 years old and I got tinnitus and hyperacusis in 2015 after noise exposure... I was at a party near the speakers, and in that moment the DJ wrongly raised the volume to absurd level for some second and I got my ears burned..

2+ years are past and my tinnitus and hyperacusis are getting worse over time. I had no problems in the first times, i could go to parties/disco with earplugs and had no problems, but my situation slowly started getting bad. I quit going to discos last year, but this hasn't helped a lot.

To summarize how is it going: some days ago I played table soccer with friends and I was wearing earplugs.. when I finished playing I noticed that my hyperacusis was worse, when my friends were laughing or loudly speaking I got scratch effect in the ears, the sound that I get when my ears are damaging. I don't know why it happened, maybe I pressed earplugs too much and I damaged my inner ear?

In those days, with xmas meals with parents I got some problems: I got scratches at ears when people were talking too loud, so after some time i put earplugs, and I've done all the rest of the meals with plugs on.

The problem is that when my ears scratch my tinnitus get permanently worse.. those days i'm sad, i can't stop thinking what my life will be if my situation continues get worse.. i should wear earplugs almost all the time i am in social situations or loud places, but when i wear them i fell my tinnitus so loud, it distracts me and makes me have negative thinking..

What should I do? Why my ears are damaging even with normal noise? My tinnitus got 10x times bad since 2015... what will it be in 10 years? Will I have to stay forever at home to prevent ears damage?

I'm starting to understand why people committed suicide because of tinnitus..

Anyway I hope you have some advice for me, cause I don't know what to do..
Thanks everybody.

 

[fishbone]

Wearing ear plugs all the time is not going to help you out. If you have hyperacusis then you need to have that treated and try to get rid of it. Tinnitus might not go away but hyperacusis can be treated(mine was over 20+ years ago and i had it for the first 4-5 years of my tinnitus journey). When you are wearing ear plugs your brain is tuned into the noise EVEN more and this can have an negative effect. Not all sounds are bad, we need to remember that. The stress and anxiety also play a huge role, in how your tinnitus will behave. try to calm down and not think gloomy thoughts. It's hard, but that's how tinnitus is.

There are options with tinnitus, masking, hearing aids, therapy. They may not 100% get rid of the noise, but you can still live your life.

Any negative thought, we feed it....it can amplify and get worst.

 

[Saxopon]

Hi fishbone, thanks a lot for your answer.
How can i treat hyperacusis? I never used ear plugs in normal situations, only in parties and disco, but i dont go there anymore as i said. I started using them recently for other situations..
But why should i not wear plugs in loud situations? My tinnitus get worse if i expose to scratchy sounds. Isn't the same for you?
Anyway i already use masking, i used to need it only at night, but now, inon use it almost all time i'm at home.
I started meditate 3 months ago as advice of my pshycoterapistfor my social anxiety and depression, since tinnitus isn't the only condition i have to deal with :/ (i know meditation is good for tinnitus too)

 

[Saxopon]

Hi fishbone, thanks a lot for your answer.
How can i treat hyperacusis? I never used ear plugs in normal situations, only in parties and disco, but i dont go there anymore as i said. I started using them recently for other situations..
But why should i not wear plugs in loud situations? My tinnitus get worse if i expose to scratchy sounds. Isn't the same for you?
Anyway i already use masking, i used to need it only at night, but now, inon use it almost all time i'm at home.
I started meditate 3 months ago as advice of my pshycoterapistfor my social anxiety and depression, since tinnitus isn't the only condition i have to deal with :/ (i know meditation is good for tinnitus too)