Hyperacusis Recovering Process

[Adriel93]

Does hyperacusis get better little by little or does it suddenly disappear?


Lately I feel like my hyperacusis has gotten a lot better, but I also don't want to get my hopes up. A lot of the noises that used to bother me, are not bothering me as much.

 

[victoria9273]

Mine got slightly better. I used to live in an apartment where there are car/bus noises all day long. I did not notice them at first and slept comfortably. Then suddenly my hyperacusis seriously went wrong and recently after 4 years of living in that situation I couldn't even sleep because noises drove me insane. Now I am temporarily sleeping and spending most of the time in an relatively quiet house and I do believe that I became a bit more comfortable with the everyday sound.. Still loud noises perplex me but I am taking my anxiety pills so...

I've come to believe that living in a noisy flat where there are muffled car noises(because you always have to close windows all the time)makes sensitive person's ears even more sensitive. I have also read complaints of normal family's hearing gone very sensitive bacause of living in an apartment with a nice view and a horrible noises. And still most people in towns and cities seem very fine with that.

 

[victoria9273]

And in my view tinnitus can dissapear dramatically for some people but not for hyperacusis. It may take some time to get better and one has to deal with misophonia too.

 

[Adriel93]

@victoria9273 thank you for responding. What is the difference between H and Misophonia?

 

[victoria9273]

This is hard for me to tell as I haven't enough knowledge about it but... If hyperacusis is a symptom, misophonia is some kind of psychological anxiety to sound and it goes perfectly well with hyperacusis. Sometimes I feel that stresses makes ear sensitivity far worse and thus misophonia acts as an catalyst to worsening hyperacusis.

We need to learn to laugh those big noises off to move on and focus on what we are doing...especially car horn, loud voices and miscellanous noises that just happen in our way.

With misophonia it is just really hard to ignore them as you are constantly nervous about smallest sound and always trying to hide from them(I'm not saying that hiding whenever you can is a bad thing at all). By doing that, we are more likely to make more mistakes and blunder.

 

[Bobster59]

Mine slowly disappeared , took about 3 months.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Does hyperacusis get better little by little or does it suddenly disappear?

Hyperacusis will affect each person differently and it also depends how severe it is? It will usually improve with time sometimes on it's own but in severe cases specialist treatment may be required. Contrary to what some people believe, hyperacusis can be completely cured for some people and this can take up to two years. If hyperacusis doesn't improve significantly by itself or isn't treated by self help or using specialist devises such as white noise generators, under the care of a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist, then tinnitus will usually be more problematic. This will manifest itself as "spiking" or their auditory system is more sensitive to sound. Hyperacusis usually improves by a gradual reduction of sensitivity to sound. Please click on the link below and read my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it.

Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

[Contrast]

I can say for a fact that my hyperacusis has improved significantly
the brain decreases some aspects of central gain after slowly re-exposing yourself to noise.

 

[Adriel93]

@Bobster59 @Michael Leigh @Contrast

So I have a question for you guys. Since you guys recovered from H, are you guys still afraid of certain noises even if they don't bother your ears anymore??? Does this get better with time also?

I've noticed that I'm still afraid of the noises that used to harm my ears.

 

[Contrast]

@Bobster59 @Michael Leigh @Contrast

So I have a question for you guys. Since you guys recovered from H, are you guys still afraid of certain noises even if they don't bother your ears anymore??? Does this get better with time also?

I've noticed that I'm still afraid of the noises that used to harm my ears.

Maybe the first month or so but eventually you should recovery from the misophonia

 

[Michael Leigh]

I've noticed that I'm still afraid of the noises that used to harm my ears.

The fear and anxiety that you have about loud noises is understandable, considering what you have endured with hyperacusis. However, it is important to keep things into perspective. Overly worrying can make you focus on your auditory system more and this isn't good for you. Similarly, try not to overuse hearing protection as I've mentioned in my post: Hyperacusis, As I see It.

My hyperacusis has been completely cured for 20 years. Even after my second noise trauma in 2008, the hyperacusis did not return. I have no fear of loud sounds but that doesn't mean I don't use hearing protection. When using my petrol lawn mower, strimmer, electric power tools I use ear defenders. When I'm out the street, Ambulance, police and fire truck sirens do not bother me, nor do I attempt to protect my ears from these sounds.

Michael

 

[Bobster59]

My hyperacusis backed off but never completely went away. It's been very mild since it backed off and I am more than happy with that. My hyperacucsis has recently returned due to another moderate sudden hearing loss. I feel positive though that hyperacusis will back off as my ear gets better. I read 8 to 12 weeks is typical for it to back off. Be positive and stay busy.

 

[robHing]

I have H too.
Based on the info from this forum, it may take a long time
(eg. one year) to desensitize the ears.

 

[Tex]

I can't say that mine has gotten better. But it seems like I recover better from the last real loud noise exposure better than I used to. I just do my best to not go to places that will be real loud.

I got trapped in a small restaurant recently that had this extremely loud entertainer. I don't know what makes these amateurs think "louder is better." However, when we finally left I think my T settled down to its normal pain in the ass whistle vs. the worse shrill screeching when we first left. Unexpected blowouts like a close in traffic siren seem to bother me less as well.

 

[Taylorslay]

Everyone is different. Most I've seen on the forum is people getting better little by little. But some people get better slowly then the recovery skyrockets. Then there's people like myself who can recover from a spike in the matter of hours to days but never fully recover 100% (meaning having zero H symptoms ever). However, since I am keeping at my recovery I have gotten to a point where my H is barely noticeable. For a while I thought I hit a wall in my recovery, in a way, yes. However, I noticed it began getting better and better slowly after a certain point. Fingers crossed .

Even if it never goes away completely and I'm stuck in this loop I still can live a normal life and I think that's whats most important.

 

[Adriel93]

@Taylorslay I hope it's the beginning of your end with H!!!! How long have you had it for?

 

[Michael Leigh]

Even if it never goes away completely and I'm stuck in this loop I still can live a normal life and I think that's whats most important.

@Taylorslay you are improving nicely and still within a short period of time. I admire your positive approach, and have no doubt you will continue to make improvement to the point where tinnitus and hyperacusis become distant memory. Your positivity and zest for life will be an inspiration to many, so I hope you stay around so others may benefit from your positive vibes.

Well done and wishing you all the best.
Michael

 

[Taylorslay]

@Taylorslay I hope it's the beginning of your end with H!!!! How long have you had it for?

Its been about 9 months now.

 

[Frizz]

Hyperacusis is an unpredictable, shape-shifting beast that seems to be different for everyone. Granted my experience is limited as I've only had this life-destroying condition for about three months, but my main recommendation would be honestly and ironically to play it by ear. Whatever works for you, works for you. For some with recruitment based hyperacusis (as in sounds are unexpectedly loud), I imagine sound enrichment and pink noise therapies can really work wonders, but for others with the delayed nerve-related "sunburn from hell" ear pain, which is what I have, I don't know if I can say as much. For me the only thing that has worked is long stretches of silence followed by maybe some light noise exposure (if it doesn't hurt), and then continued lack of exposure to especially loud noises. Rinse, repeat, and adhere.

 

[Athens]

I can say for a fact that my hyperacusis has improved significantly
the brain decreases some aspects of central gain after slowly re-exposing yourself to noise.

How long did it take for you to experience significant improvement of your hyperacusis?