Tingling Sensation on My Head — Normal for Pain Hyperacusis?

[Bob den Hartog]

Hey all,

For the past several weeks now I've got hyperacusis. Next to the burning pain sensation in my ear, I also experience tingling sensations all over my face? Is this regular for pain hyperacusis? How worrisome is this? Is it better or worse than pain?

Thanks.

 

[Contrast]

Yes, it's noise induced pain.

It has something to do with the trigeminal nerve, what exactly we don't know.

 

[Contrast]

Dude I had the exact same fucking thing about a year ago and it took 8-9 months or so to go away entirely, I still get facial numbness from noise, but burning and TTTS is gone.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

Good to hear it went away entirely, worrisome it took so long! Still, I want to be okay and tolerating noise again once the neuromod hits... Right now, practically every sound triggers symptoms. Tinnitus worsened over night, while my left ear ached.

When H hit, during that week I got over it by exposing myself to sound again. But afraid now to take off earplugs...

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Bob den Hartog

Next to the burning pain sensation in my ear, I also experience tingling sensations all over my face?

If you are sure that the cause of your tinnitus was completely noise induced with no physical injury, dental/mouth trauma or no other conditions such as infection, allergies, TMJ, or ETD, then it's probably peripheral nerve involvement. Cause would then probably be noise ear trauma with also developing hyperacusis as a one line explanation. Tingling should go away completely in 8-9 months and maybe your tinnitus might lessen as well.
Maybe @Michael Leigh could discuss sound and your earplug use among other advice.

With facial tingling sensations, vitamin deficiencies can pronounce sensations especially with a lack of B vitamins. Drinking ice water or extremely cold liquids are not advised. Certain medications have facial tingling listed as a side effect so they can increase sensations with all ready having facial tingling.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

Thanks for your additional information, @Greg Sacramento. Although my dentist has said I grind my teeth at night, and I'm getting my mouth thing (guard?) next Tuesday, I do believe it is completely noise related.

When H hit at first (just the ear pain / warm and burning sensation), I was able to overcome it within two weeks by gradually exposing myself to sound again. When it later hit again, I thought I could do so yet again. I'm afraid I went too fast this time? I was too confident? Mind you, I'm talking about everyday sounds here, nothing out of the ordinary.

The 8 to 9 months scares me. I do need to work...

 

[Greg Sacramento]

I can see from your history that you are well informed and had already talked to Michael.

It appears that you started to grind your teeth after your history mentions of exposures to noise in your introduction post. If you had started to grind your teeth before any noise exposures then mandibular nerves and muscles may have given you a handicap score to start off with. Grinding teeth after noise induced trauma can easily increase ear sensitivity. Seeing your dentist for grinding is a smart move.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

No, apparently I've been grinding them for a while. A year ago my dentist started telling me about it, but didn't want a mouth thing for at night. Now, with all of this, I decided to give in. I still notice I clench my jaw during the day. Also, sitting in a certain way on my couch can trigger a certain T sound, which subsides if I shift my position and start doing exercises with my neck.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

I haven't really talked to Michael about it, but I did read all his posts. I got this method of not overprotecting from them. However, though this method helped me in the first period, it may have hurt me in the second. I don't know.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

What has always helped me with episodes of hyperacusis with ear discomfort is to use a soft running brook continuous CD at a distance of ten feet. For that I use two speakers when sleeping placed apart at about 25 -30 decibels just above whisper level. This knocks down my hyperacusis in less than two weeks. If your ears are very sensitive, then a sound that's not all one frequency may help.

 

[Bob den Hartog]

Thank you. If I could, I would've done that. But as it is now, I don't think I could stand that. Or I'd be afraid I would make matters worse.

Something happened during that two hours of sleep in a quiet room which made it worse... twice... so I don't think I'm going to sleep without ear plugs any more .

 

[Johan_L]

I haven't really talked to Michael about it, but I did read all his posts. I got this method of not overprotecting from them. However, though this method helped me in the first period, it may have hurt me in the second. I don't know.

I might have mentioned this before, but same thing happened to me. Things got better after 4 weeks, started using less and less earplugs, and then... BAM. Now 4 months in this setback, no progress. Constant burning pain in ear and jaw.

Don't like have earplugs in 24/7, so I slept with earmuffs but damaged my jaw. I wish I would have had used these instead: https://www.hibermate.com/

 

[Bob den Hartog]

I might have mentioned this before, but same thing happened to me. Things got better after 4 weeks, started using less and less earplugs, and then... BAM. Now 4 months in this setback, no progress. Constant burning pain in ear and jaw.

Don't like have earplugs in 24/7, so I slept with earmuffs but damaged my jaw. I wish I would have had used these instead: https://www.hibermate.com/

Yes, you did mention it before. It scared me, because I was worried I'd be in the long haul as well. Now I'm afraid I actually am.

 

[Johan_L]

Yes, you did mention it before. It scared me, because I was worried I'd be in the long haul as well. Now I'm afraid I actually am.

There is a risk... but I the most likely scenario is that you will get better unless you have a another noise accident during recovery. I actually think I have improved in my left (my good ear) somewhat. But my right ear has had more accidents during these 4 months so it is in pretty bad shape.

 

[Johan_L]

If you speak Dutch and live in the area, maybe this is of interest? https://www.brai3n.com

Over at ChatH there is a guy who got a patch on his eardrum from them... He thinks it might be helping

 

[Contrast]

just accept the reality that without a treatment to regenerate hearing loss you will be stuck here forever.

 

[Tanni]

No, apparently I've been grinding them for a while. A year ago my dentist started telling me about it, but didn't want a mouth thing for at night. Now, with all of this, I decided to give in. I still notice I clench my jaw during the day. Also, sitting in a certain way on my couch can trigger a certain T sound, which subsides if I shift my position and start doing exercises with my neck.

I've just received my mouth guard from the Dentist - pretty flimsy looking thing and feels weird at first, but easy to get used to and sleep with.

My ENT specialist mentioned both teeth grinding and my neck (it seems my neck doesn't bend fully on one side), so my next stop will potentially be a chiropractor. May as well try everything

 

[Marko Nakovski]

Same here. My first 2-3 weeks with hyperacusis were scary, then in the next period suddenly my situation had been improved dramatically and I said to myself, wow, my positive progress is so fast. In that time my hyperacusis was moderate and I was happy that I reached that level only after 3 weeks. My moderate level with hyperacusis lasted 2-3 weeks too. However after those 3 weeks my hyperacusis was worsened (I don't know the cause, maybe car horns) and from then until now I'm progressing to worse all the time.

Now I'm in constant burning pain 24/7. Sometimes it's 10/10, sometimes if I'm lucky it's 5/10 but I have it all the time. This is literally hell...

Maybe we shouldn't have exposed ourselves to sound too early. In the first few months it's better to rest all the time and maybe we were too confident or maybe unaware of how painful can this condition be.

 

[Juan]

Same here. My first 2-3 weeks with hyperacusis were scary, then in the next period suddenly my situation had been improved dramatically and I said to myself, wow, my positive progress is so fast. In that time my hyperacusis was moderate and I was happy that I reached that level only after 3 weeks. My moderate level with hyperacusis lasted 2-3 weeks too. However after those 3 weeks my hyperacusis was worsened (I don't know the cause, maybe car horns) and from then until now I'm progressing to worse all the time.

Now I'm in constant burning pain 24/7. Sometimes it's 10/10, sometimes if I'm lucky it's 5/10 but I have it all the time. This is literally hell...

Maybe we shouldn't have exposed ourselves to sound too early. In the first few months it's better to rest all the time and maybe we were too confident or maybe unaware of how painful can this condition be.

It is just the way it is. Loud sound makes things more complicated. Living a more or less normal life with hyperacusis is a huge challenge if you have no hearing damage. Once you start losing hearing hyperacusis and tinnitus get out of control, and not for the better.

 

[Marko Nakovski]

I don't have hearing loss but the pain is killing me. My mix of tinnitus sounds is adding fuel to the fire but the constant pain 24/7 is hell to live and I'm not even exposing myself to sounds. I hope there will be some treatment in near future for sufferers like us...

 

[Juan]

I don't have hearing loss but the pain is killing me. My mix of tinnitus sounds is adding fuel to the fire but the constant pain 24/7 is hell to live and I'm not even exposing myself to sounds. I hope there will be some treatment in near future for sufferers like us...

you have to be around sound, but not loud sound, and that's why its hard, because the world is full of unexpected loud sounds everywhere. With cellphones, PA systems, speakers, and noise everywhere it is hard to cope.

Improvement occurs very slowly and damage happens in a split second.

As for protection, foam earplugs, custom-made earplugs, earmuffs etc, one has to find the best option for the individual case. What is great for you may not be great for someone else, it is all a matter of trial and error.

Because there is no treatment of hyperacusis nowaday, the best recipe is common sense, a bit of exercise, sunlight (vitamin D), and a healthy diet. We cannot do much more than that. And be psychologically strong! Dont let H or T get you down!

 

[Arseny]

I've tried Gabapentin yesterday and it seems to be helping with hyperacusis.
I could watch YouTube video on my phone without being shocked by electricity.

It's used for neuropathic pain so it makes sense.

 

[Marko Nakovski]

@Juan I have also noticed that my ears are hot and red so many times through a day. I think that I may have red ear syndrome too. The main causes for RES is neck touching the ear, heat, exercise and neck movement. Almost always my ears turn red after I wake up after touching them to the pillow, also I have noticed that when my room is cold and I turn on the heat level up, then after that room temperature becomes hot and this attack start... I have these kinds of attacks at least 5 or 6 times... I also read that RES is connected with the trigeminal nerve which makes sense because hyperacusis is connected with this nerve.

Most of the times I'm not exposed to sounds at all and my ears are in burning pain. What I'm not sure of is if my burning pain is the same like other sufferers. My pain is more like itching, like wound skin after burn, it's hard to explain especially because English isn't my native language.

Do you have pain even if you stay in total silence? If so can you explain in which way is your burning pain manifesting?

 

[Marko Nakovski]

@Arseny @Tanni @Contrast @Johan_L @Bob den Hartog

Is the burning pain manifesting like burning pain similar as wound skin after burn or in some other way? I think there are 2 types of burning pain one can experience with hyperacusis but I think all of them are connected with the trigeminal nerve.

It's maybe weird that I've tagged all of you in one post but I thought it's important to share the experience with the burning pain in more detailed way so we can maybe find some connection with the cause of the pain.

 

[OnceUponaTime]

I've tried Gabapentin yesterday and it seems to be helping with hyperacusis.

That's good. How much gabapentine?

 

[Juan]

Do you have pain even if you stay in total silence? If so can you explain in which way is your burning pain manifesting?

It is mostly acute pressure that irradiates towards neck and temples. I dont have that red ear thing..

 

[Rojo]

All this talk of hyperacusis pain being tied to the trigeminal nerve, has anyone tried carbamazepine? I'm assuming it's super effective for the "vascular compression" kind of pain but not this.

I don't know about anyone else but it is SUPER clear to me the link this lingering pain has to TTTS. When I have to go out, the spasms in my ear when I speak or to noise steadily get worse, easier to trigger, tighter/higher pitched/more painful, then get to the point of almost constant pulling or pressure to keep the sound volume tolerable, aural fullness/tightness. It feels like a sunburn in my ear eventually. This is followed by an extended period of burning pain in my jaw and face that matches trigeminal distribution.

For how long, I don't know, because of how much noise exposure I've been forced into the past few weeks, it hasn't really fallen off; I'm scared it won't. I really don't know how to handle this situation; do I hide in the quiet, making my ears feel starved for sound and super sensitive? Do I try to expose to constant moderate noise? It feels like there's a kindling/build-up effect of even quiet noises that eventually make them unbearable to continue listening to; I couldn't stay in a quiet hotel room because of the barely audible hum from neighboring ACs and the roadway despite asking for a room way in the back of the building. Going out into normal noise, often with earplugs when it's noisy, seems "ok" for a while or a day, but that TTTS and trigeminal wind-up happens and then it all hits me a day or two later with more sensitivity and pain. WHAT DO I DO TO TRY AND GET BETTER??

Is it possible that Keppra helps hyperacusis by stopping this kindling effect building up? I have read that it has strong anti-kindling, anti-burst firing, and anti-audiogenic seizure properties. I have tried Gabapentin and it feels like it's too ototoxic for me; most things are. My tinnitus/hyperacusis started with Neomycin but there were some hints of the sensitivity/physical pain to very high volumes a few times before that. I also may have Lyme's, or hydrops/atypical Meniere's.

I tried to go to the hospital because of how bad I'm doing with all this, but of course the ER does nothing. I wanted to try steroids (my pain has spiked the past few days from noise/new meds), or a stellate ganglion block, or something, ANYTHING. Just TRY SOMETHING to help my completely destroyed life and future. THEY DO NOTHING.

 

[Marko Nakovski]

@Rojo For how long did you take Gabapentin, and which dose were you taking?

I'm thinking to try either Gabapentin or Keppra and I'm not so sure what to decide. It seems to me that Gabapentin can have even worse side effects than Keppra, but I saw so many people reporting bigger ratings to Gabapentin than Keppra...