Intermittent Hyperacusis

[Natalie Roberts]

So I've had tinnitus for like ten months with random bouts of hyperacusis. My ears are extremely sensitive to sounds and even my voice hurts my ears. But it's not chronic hyperacusis.. It's not everyday that it's like this, sometimes even just for a few hours and then it tapers off. Today, it has been really bad and extremely sensitive. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this ? The hyperacusis itself is worse then just the tinnitus. It's extremely hard to deal with when its very sensitive like today for example I am really struggling .


Has anyone else experienced this random hyperacusis?

 

[ruben ruiz]

Bless you Natalie. Im in the same shape. My life is draining away. Very lil sleep.If you find something on hyperacusis please let me know. I know its not good to heal loud sound.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Bless you Natalie. Im in the same shape. My life is draining away. Very lil sleep.If you find something on hyperacusis please let me know. I know its not good to heal loud sound.

Thanks I'm sorry you're going through it too. It's awful. My own voice is Like nails on a chalk board and it's awful.. Luckily mine is intermittent but when it occurs it's very hard to function. I was never exposed to excessive loud noise or anything it just started out if the blue.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

No other suggestions/advise?

 

[Sara_Bond]

Hi Natalie,

I think it's an alert and you should protect your ears or avoid noisy environments.

Please give your ears some rest, for example be in silence for a few hours reading or relaxing. And do it more te ore you can. I know it's hard to deal with when you have babies, you can just put some earplugs when you feel sensitive. Because one Hyperacusis is really there really hard to go back.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Hi Natalie,

I think it's an alert and you should protect your ears or avoid noisy environments.

Please give your ears some rest, for example be in silence for a few hours reading or relaxing. And do it more te ore you can. I know it's hard to deal with when you have babies, you can just put some earplugs when you feel sensitive. Because one Hyperacusis is really there really hard to go back.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am a 911 operator so I'm on the radio and the phone a lot talking and it's usually worse at work. The sensitivity decreases when I go home and whenever I am able I try not to talk A loud and avoid as much noise as possible but also don't want to over protect my ears because I've read that can lead to hyperacusis also.. I leave the room when the cleaning lady at work vacuums and don't listen to music in the car. I also use plugs at the movies and super loud places But tend to go without for most everyday situations to not aggravated it. I'm so confused and frustrated. I have an appointment in two weeks with a specialist again so I can see what's going on and hopefully she can help. It's awful.

 

[Telis]

Yeah if your ears get sensitive you are right to back off, receive this as a warning. Listen to your body.

Don't worry about over protecting, this is a myth. No solid evidence that quiet will do harm the ears. It's the opposite, you can easily get hyperacusis from over exposure to noise, especially if they are already damaged. I learned this the hard way. When I first damaged my ears all I wanted to do was go out and drown the T with noise, very bad idea.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Yeah if your ears get sensitive you are right to back off, receive this as a warning. Listen to your body.

Don't worry about over protecting, this is a myth. No solid evidence that quiet will do harm the ears. It's the opposite, you can easily get hyperacusis from over exposure to noise, especially if they are already damaged. I learned this the hard way. When I first damaged my ears all I wanted to do was go out and drown the T with noise, very bad idea.

You have H as well, correct? It's awful. The tinnitus specialist I talked to told me not to use earplugs for normal situations so I haven't been but lately even my own voice aggravates me and sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Or, perhaps it's the pitch of my T . It's like it is so high pitched it hurts my head. I don't know. The weird thing (that I am also grateful for) is that it doesn't happen all the time. For example, yesterday there was virtually zero T or H and I had a great day. Today, however my T is ultra high pitched and annoying with mild H. I don't understand it!

 

[ChrisJ]

Hi,

My voice also hurts my head. I have been told it's because of the airflow in the middle ear. Sometimes if you have Rhinitis, Sinitis, or Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, the airflow behind the ear drum is disturbed. Sound from inside your body can make its way in to the middle ear. I have had this before if my ear pops I can hear my own voice inside my head very loudly, like I'm talking in a barrel. I have to repressurise using the valsalva. Does this sound like what you have or is the hyperacusis more of a piercing feeling?

 

[ChrisJ]

The tinnitus specialist I talked to told me not to use earplugs for normal situations so I haven't been but lately even my own voice aggravates me and sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Or, perhaps it's the pitch of my T . It's like it is so high pitched it hurts my head. I don't know.

Oh I just read this. You shouldn't talk while wearing ear plugs because you will get what's called the occlusion effect. You might want to see a neuro-otologist, that's my next plan of action. I also had a CT scan of my head and temporal bone to check for any dents or chips as sometimes that can be a way sounds can enter the head. So that would be good for you to rule out. It was a neurologist who suggested that to me.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Hi,

My voice also hurts my head. I have been told it's because of the airflow in the middle ear. Sometimes if you have Rhinitis, Sinitis, or Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, the airflow behind the ear drum is disturbed. Sound from inside your body can make its way in to the middle ear. I have had this before if my ear pops I can hear my own voice inside my head very loudly, like I'm talking in a barrel. I have to repressurise using the valsalva. Does this sound like what you have or is the hyperacusis more of a piercing feeling?

My voice / others voices sometimes sounds distorted but normally my voice just hurts my ears and sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Like a piercing . I feel like I also do the vasalva often because my ears feel strange .. I don't even know how to go about finding a neuro-otologist! I don't even know that we have one where I'm from. I haven't had any MRIs or CTS because everyone I've spoken to says they don't feel it's necessary .

I don't wear ear plugs too often, actually and rarely talk when wearing them. I would like to wear them more because my ears really bother me but I don't because I'm worried about worsening my T. What's so strange is that my H varies with the volume of my T. If my t is louder my H tends t also be louder, like maybe even the pitch of my tinnitus is what's hurting my ears and the tone of the T makes it worse. I don't know, I feel like I'm not making sense but I don't know how else to describe it!

 

[ChrisJ]

I don't even know how to go about finding a neuro-otologist! I don't even know that we have one where I'm from.

It's a branch of neurology in which the doctor has a specialism in the ears as well. You should be able to get a referral from a general physician or an ENT. If you are having to do the valsalva then it does sound like your have Eustachian Tube problems. A regular ENT should be able to help you to start with.

 

[Kane Moffat]

Hey Natalie, I've had bouts of hyperacusis come and go for the last year now.

I think this is now a warning sign to give you ears a rest. You should focus your time now on reducing your sound sensitivity and allowing your ears to recover from whatever has caused this.

My suggestions

• If you are in an environment that exacerbates either your T, H, earpain or ability to hear people clearly, then you should cut it out or wear ear plugs. Eventually your tolerance will increase.
• To avoid the impact of over protection you should set aside time during the day 1 or 2 hours where you get a controlled amount of pink noise. (The key is being able to control your environmental noise)
• Start taking supplements (including b12, b6, A, E,C, NAC and magnesium)
• Look into laser light therapy (you can build your own, rather than paying hundreds of pounds for it, check out the 'diy lllt' thread.
• Start reducing stress as much as possible, exercising and meditating.
• and of course give TRT a go if you can afford it.

During the periods where its gone, i reckon you shouldn't expose yourself to sounds above 80db and perhaps H might become a less frequent occurance for you.

 

[Kane Moffat]

Also, you are a 911 operator? So im guessing you have an earpiece up to your ear during the day. I notice that after just 10 mins on the phone my ears start to hurt. So this may be exacerbating your H.

 

[Sara_Bond]

Relaxing is key.

I found that massages help me a lot (I did have one today) cause muscles are too contracted when you have H.
Meditation and stretching too. T and H are can be increased by stress.

I agree with suggestions made by Kane. I don't know if you are able to take some days off? Or even a medical leave of 1 week?

On a long term basis, I would recommend you to find an alternative solution to your job like maybe changing department (doing administrative stuff...) or doing another job if it's possible? I know it's difficult but H souldn't be taken easy. Take care of your ears.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Also, you are a 911 operator? So im guessing you have an earpiece up to your ear during the day. I notice that after just 10 mins on the phone my ears start to hurt. So this may be exacerbating your H.

Yes I am a 911 operator. The H mostly bothers me at work but it's not constant-- it comes and goes. And I do wear a headset but it's an outer ear one and I keep the volume very quiet. I wear it for 4 hours a time when I am on radio with the officers then use a handheld phone for 911 calls. I try my best to reduce noise as much as I can and don't talk a lot when it's happening. I have an appointment with a specialist in a few weeks to try and give me some advise on how to best cope with this.. I am trying desperately to find another job where I can control the stress and noise but it's very hard to find something that makes as much money as incurrently do to support my kids! I need a quieter job!

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Relaxing is key.

I found that massages help me a lot (I did have one today) cause muscles are too contracted when you have H.
Meditation and stretching too. T and H are can be increased by stress.

I agree with suggestions made by Kane. I don't know if you are able to take some days off? Or even a medical leave of 1 week?

On a long term basis, I would recommend you to find an alternative solution to your job like maybe changing department (doing administrative stuff...) or doing another job if it's possible? I know it's difficult but H souldn't be taken easy. Take care of your ears.

I have been looking into trying to find another job but it's almost impossible to find one anywhere near the amount of money I am currently making. But I am in the process of going back to school (just enrolled) to try and finish a degree so I can get out of here.. I'm also actively looking into finding an alternative job I can do I the meantime .. What's weird about my H is that it comes and goes. I'll have periods of several hours where it's really bad then it eases up. I'm not on day two of little to no H and mild T. So it fluctuates quite a bit which I don't understand. I don't expose myself to excessively loud sounds and use plugs when I'm around louder noises like the vacuum or whatever. I don't really have any sick leave at my job since I just got back from maternity leave a few months ago. :,( plus I need sick notes for every leave I'm out sick and don't have a regular dr who's treating me for this for notes . I feel kind of stuck :,(

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Hey Natalie, I've had bouts of hyperacusis come and go for the last year now.

I think this is now a warning sign to give you ears a rest. You should focus your time now on reducing your sound sensitivity and allowing your ears to recover from whatever has caused this.

My suggestions

• If you are in an environment that exacerbates either your T, H, earpain or ability to hear people clearly, then you should cut it out or wear ear plugs. Eventually your tolerance will increase.
• To avoid the impact of over protection you should set aside time during the day 1 or 2 hours where you get a controlled amount of pink noise. (The key is being able to control your environmental noise)
• Start taking supplements (including b12, b6, A, E,C, NAC and magnesium)
• Look into laser light therapy (you can build your own, rather than paying hundreds of pounds for it, check out the 'diy lllt' thread.
• Start reducing stress as much as possible, exercising and meditating.
• and of course give TRT a go if you can afford it.

During the periods where its gone, i reckon you shouldn't expose yourself to sounds above 80db and perhaps H might become a less frequent occurance for you.

THank you so much for your reply. It really means a lot to me !! So your h comes and goes as well? I wonder what the cause of this could be.. I have an appointment with an audiologist who specializes in T and H next week and plan to ask about molded ear plugs in addition to hearing aids to try and deal with this. I'm never in excessively loud situations which is why it's strange that my H comes and goes. It does get worse when I am at work and on the phone or headset but I keep the volume turned extremely low while I work on everything I'm exposed to. I rarely even watch television anymore because my t is also reactive to sounds and I find it bothersome.

Do you recommend just playing pink noise in the background while I'm relaxing or hanging out with the kids?

You're right about meditation. I was actively doing it several hours a day a few months ago but have been so busy I have backed off recently and my stress is pretty high with three kids and working full time. My life is nothing but stress and I need to get back into actively reducing it.

As far as the vitamins I am currently taking magnesium which I just started up and a prenatal vitamin . I'll have to research additional vitamins because I am breastfeeding as far as which are save to consume. Also, I am going to ask about TRT when I see the audiologist as I have been struggling with feeling down lately . :,(

It helps me not feel alone when people reply with tips, ideas and letting me know their suggestions and experiences .

 

[Kane Moffat]

My H tend to come back if im exposed to too much noise, if i use headphones or go to a bar without ear plugs. So mine is provoked rather than totally random.

I think you should kill two kbirds with one stone, meditate whilst you listen to pink noise. This really could bring massive benefits for you short and long term.

That's a great goal to set Natalie, stress reduction. I think alot of people just think stress reduction equals doing nothing but i believe its a combination of active and passive activities. Active- Exercise, Laughing, socialising . Passive- Relaxation through watching a film or reading a book, getting a massage (haha) and MEDITATiNG .

 

[PaulBe]

Me too Natalie. That's how mine presents. Every morning is an auditory lottery. Unfortunately I have no advice whatsoever.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

My H tend to come back if im exposed to too much noise, if i use headphones or go to a bar without ear plugs. So mine is provoked rather than totally random.

I think you should kill two kbirds with one stone, meditate whilst you listen to pink noise. This really could bring massive benefits for you short and long term.

That's a great goal to set Natalie, stress reduction. I think alot of people just think stress reduction equals doing nothing but i believe its a combination of active and passive activities. Active- Exercise, Laughing, socialising . Passive- Relaxation through watching a film or reading a book, getting a massage (haha) and MEDITATiNG .

Thank you very much! I do know how to mediate and practiced for several months with the help of a therapist and it did reduce my stress and reaction to t. I will look into the pink noise . Thank you for your suggestions

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Me too Natalie. That's how mine presents. Every morning is an auditory lottery. Unfortunately I have no advice whatsoever.

Mine too. Right now I'm at the office and it's going crazy . Reactive T and my ears feel weird and pressurized . Like I can 'feel sound' if that makes sense. I'm so tired of this bullshit.

 

[ChrisJ]

@Natalie Roberts as well as all the other good advice above if you are having to pop your ears and it is Eustachian Tube related you can see this epic post here: Here Is How I Solved My Tinnitus — New Protocols and Supplements To Try.

It involves clearing your sinuses. You can also try gargling on warm salt water (don't swallow it). This helps to drain any congestion behind the nose. I am going to try his ideas myself to see if anything works. Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[PaulBe]

Like I can 'feel sound' if that makes sense

Oh yes. It makes sense all right.

 

[Kane Moffat]

this is a great site: @Natalie Roberts http://hyperacusisfocus.org/research/soundtherapy/#alternativesoundtherapy