Hyperacusis with Onset of Tinnitus

[Bells]

Posing this question to everyone who has or had hyperacusis with tinnitus. Did this get better in time, did you seek treatment for it and did it help?

My tinnitus occurred as a result of a noise injury, going one month now. It fluctuates but I think overall it has slowly faded. It mainly affects me when it's quiet and I when want to sleep. The hyperacusis started two weeks in. It affects me all the other times I am not at home in quiet.

I think it is part physical, part psychological. Certain sounds pain me (car breaks, sirens, whistles, bike chains, childrens' screams), but since these sounds are everywhere in the city I have anxiety. I wear earplugs when I know it's going to be too loud for me (subway). But I can't predict when a truck horn will blast or when someone with a loud voice will get on the elevator. Depressingly, I find bars and restaurants I used to enjoy simply too loud.

I have looked into getting the pink noise CD from hyperacusis.net, and custom earplugs. And TRT but, it will cost a lot of money and time. Does this simply take time? Should I move out of the city? Just wondering if anyone has experience with coping with this.

 

[Erlend]

I am in the same situation. I didn't have hyperacusis right away after I got T, in fact i never considered it an annoyance even before I started reading about it, now it's pretty bad, seems to get worse every day.

Someone help?

 

[Per]

I have T&H. My H makes me avoid exact the same noises as you mention Bells, and I tend to stretch for my earplugs on the subway too. I know exactly what you are going trough. I'm awaiting treatment specifically for my H but it takes time to get the appointment, from what I've read from others here on the forum it takes time to heal as well, but the good thing about H is that alot of people get substantially better by time, many even full recovery!

The audiologist told me that they always concentrate on treating the H before any T treatment. The only consistent advice I have received is to try to avoid plugging the ears too often and instead retrain the auditory system to accept the high pitched noises gradually. If plugging is the constant strategy the H can become prolonged because you are "feeding" the brain with a strategy that says "these noises are dangerous for me". That is what I have read in qualified reports and it also corresponds with patient stories from this source: http://www.hyperacusis.net/

 

[Erlend]

My hyperacusis have started developing like 2.5 or 3 months after I got 3.
I remember getting into that chat-hyperacusis forum randomly and thinking "jesus, these people are unlucky!"
Then it took like a week before I started feeling the same symptoms.

Today, I wasn't able to have a conversation with my family in my living room. It is when the environment is quiet that I feel discomfort from sounds. When downtown in the city I don't mind someone talking to me.

Here's a question though: The fact that this developed after a while, shouldn't that mean that it can heal just as quick?

I was so miserable after I got tinnitus. Then I did huge progress mentally. But now I have this H shit and I'm back in hell....

Please somebody respond

 

[Bells]

Hi @Per that is good news. How long have you had hyperacusis, and if you don't mind saying, where are you receiving treatment? The hyperacusis site is good. Through there I learned of acoustic shock disorder. I don't think I have all of the symptoms but it makes sense to me that you may, if you received tinnitus as a result of a sound burst, have a different set of reactions than if you received it another way.

@Erlend I also find sometimes people raise their voices too loud suddenly and it stresses my ears. It could be you are sensitive to sudden noise or certain sounds. This site has some good information. http://www.hyperacusis.net

I agree that this is a double blow on top of tinnitus. I don't know what else to say. My ENT said this can get better in time, but it can take months.

 

[Erlend]

But.. It wasn't a problem at all before I started reading about it.. I think. It's only the last few days, it's been a problem and people's voices have started causing great discomfort.

My brain. It's evil!

 

[Per]

@Bells,

Actually I don't know why I got T&H, I tick many boxes so I'm not aware of the main cause yet. Don't know if I ever will. When it comes to H I got it together with T. They say around 40% of all T victims get H too. I'm on a waiting list after a GP referral, my aim is to finally get this treated, there's some audiologists that deals with H. I'll prefer to keep my anonymity, thus explaining no country or city name, but I'm in Scandinavia. H will get better in any case, that's what every report is saying.

 

[Bells]

Thanks @Per I am trying to follow that advice of exposing my ears to sounds. I wish I could just run out to my favorite bar again but I'm not there, and I hope I can get there. I hope you can get the treatment soon! Let us know how it goes. I may look into it myself, but it is a lot of money (at least here in the US, not sure about Scandinavia).

 

[JayD]

Hi guys,
I've got T at the end of May 2013 and couple days into it I've got Hyperacusis too. I remember I was on a walk and the whole environment was unussualy loud. The birds in trees were screaming, and I could hear my wristwach ticking from some distance. One thing it told me was that I might not have hearing loss since I could hear so well. Then one interesting thing happened. A party baloon accidently popted 2-3 feet (1 meter) from my head. It was in a small room and it sounded like small gun shot, very loud. After that though, the H was gone. I don't know what it accually did to my T, but I think it is the same. Hang in there, I think the H will resolve itself.
Jay

 

[Bells]

Whoa @JayD that's pretty crazy. I think I'd flip out if someone popped a balloon next to my head. Did you get T from a loud noise to start with?

Funny thing, I took half a pill of xanax in the middle of the night because I woke up hearing tinnitus and could not get back to sleep and I really needed to function today. When my alarm woke me I forgot I'd taken it and I noticed the break squeaks and horns weren't making me wince so much. I wondered what the heck happened and remembered I took xanax not so many hours ago. So, maybe it helps some though it's not a permanent cure.

 

[Erlend]

My dad popped a plastic bag behind my head 1 week into my tinnitus from a concert. I hadn't talked muched about it so it wasn't in my families mind so I don't really blame him. I think the ringing got a bit louder then, but it has calmed down a lot after that. But maybe it could have calmed down even more without that blast?

I don't think so.. And a plastic bag blast like that is something I'm gonna encounter sooner or later anyways.

 

[tabby]

Hi Bell I got in the same situation as you T and H after concert. My T is subsided but my H is driving me crazy. Are you getting better ? How long does it take? Please give me some advice? I am now using pink noise for about 1 week still waiting for the result. There are no TRT here. Can it get better by it self thank you so much.