I'm Looking for Help with Hyperacusis and Tinnitus in Right Ear

[krzkrz]

Hello everyone,

I have hyperacusis in my right ear. It started off as constant ringing in my right ear last week, the cause of which is unknown. For the past few days and especially today, I'm noticing that the ringing is only activated by external sounds, like the sound of my fingers clacking on my keyboard this moment. I've also noticed that the ringing goes away when laying down, something most tinnitus sufferers don't experience. The hyperacusis became very noticeable this morning after watching a news clip of Donald Trump talking. My speaker volume is low, but whenever he spoke into the mic my ringing would start up. It was almost painful. I noticed all throughout last week that whenever a bus or train would roar by (I live in Chicago), the ringing would get louder. Even little things like scratching my head, sighing heavily or drawing with a pencil would activate the ringing.

I hope to get a hearing test tomorrow. I waited a week just to see if it would resolve itself and it didn't. I became very anxious and depressed. But I'm limiting my caffeine intake and trying to reduce anxiety. This forum, actually, has eased my nerves tremendously. It doesn't feel like I have hearing damage, but I want to err on the side of caution. I've never had tinnitus last this long (or rather tinnitus caused by hyperacusis, if that's what it really is). I don't recall any noise trauma the day it started, nor the days prior, and I haven't been taking any medication and I have no diseases. The only thing I can think of that day that caused it is stress. That, or maybe the cumulative effect of biking through the city gradually hurt my right ear. Who knows?

For now I just want to focus on protecting my ear and getting better if I can! Anybody else suffer from something like this? Is there a special earplug I can buy to protect my right ear to prevent the ringing? Is it still tinnitus even if it quiets down at night? I've always had good hearing so this is all pretty new to me. Thanks.

 

[PaulBe]

What you describe is what a lot here refer to as "reactive tinnitus". Whether its a real thing, or an attempt to describe something else I don't know, but it certainly implies a dynamic process going on. I still have it sometimes. If its there its tinnitus, and if its not there its not tinnitus. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, rather like chest pain. The better way to explain this is to say that whatever it is you have is causing recurring episodes of tinnitus. Do you notice a change in the way you interpret certain sounds, or parts of certain sounds? For me it started with the sudden appearance of loud, swirling tinnitus, then over days I began to hear a grinding distortion of sounds, particularly in the high frequencies and most obvious with friction-type sounds where many frequencies play together. Its settled somewhat, three years on, but is still there to an extent, enough to be uncomfortable about 50% of the time.

You can't prevent the ringing, no matter what ear plug you use. Its not an external sound coming in, its an internally generated sound. As to whether you can protect your ear from escalating injury by wearing a plug? That's an area that is still not a settled debate. There are pros and cons. Is tinnitus the final culmination of an injury cascade that up to that point had been sub-clinical or is tinnitus a somatic/sonic manifestation of a tissue injury that is still unfolding. No-one truly knows. If this is a new injury then I personally think it wise to protect your ear sensibly in louder environments for anything up to a year. Many will say no to this but at this point in tinnitus-understanding opinions still outweigh established facts. You'll need to make some fingers-crossed judgements of your own. if you read a lot of posts here, remember that our experience isn't necessarily going to be yours and don't internalize the traumas of others as applying to you. It wouldn't hurt to read some of the essays by @Michael Leigh to get a sound starting point as well.

 

[krzkrz]

Thanks @PaulBe

So far I haven't noticed any distortion of sound. Both ears seem to process all sounds just fine. All I've noticed is the ever present ring in my right ear that dies down when in a quiet environment. It's a blessing that it goes away when I lay down to sleep and when I wake up in the morning. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Foolishly, I went to a party last night where a band was playing and I put an earplug in my right ear to keep it safe, but only after about ten minutes of trying to "grin and bear it". Nonetheless, I worry I might have setback the healing, and I have to be EXTREMELY careful! It's sad I'll have to forfeit some elements of my social life for this, but again, it's in the wait-and-see phase. I think part of the frustration for me, and I'm sure for many others, is not having a clear idea of how it started in the first place.

Tomorrow I will be getting a free basic screening from an audiologist to see if there is anything major going on at the surface. It's not deep, comprehensive exam, but it's a good start for now.