Loudness Hyperacusis — Sensitive Only to Certain, Mostly Low-Frequency Sounds

Sorry to hear about your worsening, @RunningMan. Yet some people actually improve, not just habituate. Just as I guess we do not quite understand how the tinnitus/hyperacusis actually happens, we do not understand how it heals.

Nerve healing is a thing, it often takes a very long time even in other parts of the body, like limbs. I suppose if there is minor nerve damage, things can heal eventually. Then the brain neuroplasticity on top of it, which probably is highly individual. We just do not know. The way I think is that if that damage is limited, i.e. "hidden hearing loss", healing can happen. The more damage there is, the less likely healing is. All this is speculation.

When it comes to worsening, other factors can be at play, cold, viruses, medications, things that would be of little consequence if it weren't for the ear damage and, resulting brain changes.

Clearly the human body, and especially the brain is so complex. When you break some part, it is thrown off balance, and things tend to malfunction more down the road and also show up in other parts Imperfect analogy, but it is not unlike computers (which are way simpler), where if a component, software or hardware, behaves differently, the effects are often unexpected and can show up seemingly far away from the original location of the problem.

Makes one wonder if we were created out of chaos or made by some intelligent being...

 

Yeah, this is a good summation IMO.

Nerves can and do heal IF the damage isn't too severe and conditions are favourable.

For reasons not understood, the body gives very low priority to nerve repair. And if the damage is bad enough, the body can decide not to bother repairing, sort of deciding it is beyond biological economic sense to do so, that resources are better spent elsewhere.

Nerves can take around 18 months (and longer) to heal - given favourable circumstances. However, the big problem with the auditory system is these nerves are in constant use, thus constantly susceptible to further damage. It's a bit like surgeons carrying out an operation in an open field.

This is why protecting ears is so, so important. Protect well and for a long while to give your body every chance to complete successful repairs. Effectively giving these surgeons in the field a roof over their heads.

 

My hearing loss and tinnitus are over the long term along with many noise traumas along the way, with the most significant lasting increase in tinnitus 19 months ago. I don't think there's any healing from that now. Maybe a treatment will come that helps. My best hope for things to get better between tinnitus and hyperacusis is with hyperacusis, the much more recent development, but that appears less likely when the cause is noise induced hearing loss. Mostly, I just hope it doesn't get any worse, after reading some of the stories on Tinnitus Talk.