Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, and Now Palinacousis

[Lex]

In another episode of the "What New Symptom Will I Have Today" reality show, palinacousis makes an appearance. Hopefully this will not become another crappy main character in the sad story that is my life.

I'm not even sure if it's palinacousis because it's apparently caused by lesions in the temporal lobe. But I already have malfunctioning ears and possibly, damaged auditory cortex, so why not add a lesioned temporal lobe to the mix?

Anyway, palinacousis is "an auditory form of perseveration — continuing to hear a sound after the physical noise has disappeared." I've experienced this a few times the past seven months but it's gotten increasingly intrusive. Earlier, I heard a lot of sirens in the streets below because of a fire in some other part of the city. The firetrucks passed by one after the other within a time frame of 15 minutes or so.

I heard the sirens persistently for almost two hours after that. It's not earworm which you know it's inside your head. I can hear the sirens as external sounds. It's like there were firetrucks still passing below, but there wasn't any.

This wasn't painful, but it was still a disturbing experience. Has anyone else encountered this firsthand?

Maybe next time, I'll hear Professor X invite me to his institute.

 

[fishbone]

I'm confident that you, will handle this like a champ and move forward. Life seems to throw obstacles at us, but we move forward and act like warriors

 

[Lex]

Thanks@fishbone! I'm still putting up a good fight.

It just amazes me how many things can go wrong with our ears! I thought hearing loss was the worst and I didn't think that was a big deal because people can wear hearing aids.

How ignorant I was!

 

[Ed209]

Hi @Lex, I don't want to sound condescending here, but are you absolutely sure about this? Have you seen a neurologist or had any tests done? If not, then try not to stress about any new symptoms you are experiencing. You seem really anxious which can cause all sorts of problems, especially if your attention is specifically directed at your auditory system.

I'd say it's probably best to stop researching disorders online and try to desensitise your central nervous system (relax, excersise, meditate etc). It's possible that you could be creating some of these problems for yourself psychosomatically.

Psychosomatic problems usually manifest after traumatic experiences or heavy periods of stress and anxiety. Symptoms will be very real, so real in fact that some people go blind even though their eyes are completely fine.

If I were you I'd go and see a specialist before self diagnosing anything, and see what they say. In my case, a bad headache immediately becomes a terminal brain tumour once I've looked the symptoms up online.

Take care of yourself.

 

[Lex]

You're usually helpful and insightful, @Ed209, but you are mistaken about my intentions. I'm not being a hypochondriac diagnosing myself. I'm asking people if they also experienced the same thing, and just using the term for the condition that perfectly matches the symptoms if not the etiology.

Since getting H, I've experienced this persistent phantom sound several times, but only for sirens. I didn't even know that it's a distinct disorder and has a name. Frankly, it's hard to look it up online because I couldn't figure out what keywords to use. Most of my search results yielded schizophrenia, to be honest. But I'm confident I'm not schizophrenic, so I thought I've been experiencing something that's simply characteristic of hyperacusis.

Anyway, a member of a hyperacusis support group posted that she continued hearing the sound of the shower up until around an hour after the shower ended. Then a few others posted their own experiences involving alarm sounds, car horns, etc. I never knew other people with hyperacusis have it! Then someone else posted that it's called palinacousis and that some people with H experience it.

The symptoms fit the condition but the etiology doesn't. I kind of find it hard to believe that I have lesions on my temporal lobe too, on top of my current set of problems. BUT there's still so much about ears that we don't know, so palinacousis may have other etiologies.

I was just asking a question for which I want answers, not judgment.

 

[Ed209]

You're usually helpful and insightful, @Ed209, but you are mistaken about my intentions. I'm not being a hypochondriac diagnosing myself. I'm asking people if they also experienced the same thing, and just using the term for the condition that perfectly matches the symptoms if not the etiology.

Since getting H, I've experienced this persistent phantom sound several times, but only for sirens. I didn't even know that it's a distinct disorder and has a name. Frankly, it's hard to look it up online because I couldn't figure out what keywords to use. Most of my search results yielded schizophrenia, to be honest. But I'm confident I'm not schizophrenic, so I thought I've been experiencing something that's simply characteristic of hyperacusis.

Anyway, a member of a hyperacusis support group posted that she continued hearing the sound of the shower up until around an hour after the shower ended. Then a few others posted their own experiences involving alarm sounds, car horns, etc. I never knew other people with hyperacusis have it! Then someone else posted that it's called palinacousis and that some people with H experience it.

The symptoms fit the condition but the etiology doesn't. I kind of find it hard to believe that I have lesions on my temporal lobe too, on top of my current set of problems. BUT there's still so much about ears that we don't know, so palinacousis may have other etiologies.

I was just asking a question for which I want answers, not judgment.

Like I said at the start of my post: don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way. My intention was not to rile you up, and I know everything you say is true. I was just trying to help by saying that you should really see a specialist about your symptoms. I wasn't implying you're an hypochondriac at all.

You seem to have real anxiety problems which is why I thought that it could potentially be a form of somatisation. I'd definitely get yourself checked out to see what's going on.

Sorry if I offended you, but I think you took everything I said completely the wrong way.

 

[Michael Leigh]

If you are experiencing hyperacusis @Lex, the best way to treat it is by using sound enrichment whenever possible. In severe cases the use of white noise generators is recommended. Some people believe hypercusis cannot be cured but I disagree because I believe it can. I once had very severe hyperacusis, when someone spoke to me it was painful to my ears. I have been cured for 20 years now.
Michael

 

[VRZ78]

In another episode of the "What New Symptom Will I Have Today" reality show, palinacousis makes an appearance. Hopefully this will not become another crappy main character in the sad story that is my life.

I'm not even sure if it's palinacousis because it's apparently caused by lesions in the temporal lobe. But I already have malfunctioning ears and possibly, damaged auditory cortex, so why not add a lesioned temporal lobe to the mix?

Anyway, palinacousis is "an auditory form of perseveration — continuing to hear a sound after the physical noise has disappeared." I've experienced this a few times the past seven months but it's gotten increasingly intrusive. Earlier, I heard a lot of sirens in the streets below because of a fire in some other part of the city. The firetrucks passed by one after the other within a time frame of 15 minutes or so.

I heard the sirens persistently for almost two hours after that. It's not earworm which you know it's inside your head. I can hear the sirens as external sounds. It's like there were firetrucks still passing below, but there wasn't any.

This wasn't painful, but it was still a disturbing experience. Has anyone else encountered this firsthand?

Maybe next time, I'll hear Professor X invite me to his institute.

I have exactly the same thing ! Sometimes and especially with continuous sounds I still hear them when they're gone. And yes with sirens it does it a lot ! But I will hear them only if there is another source of sound then I'll have them on top of the sounds coming as you say as external sounds. If I'm in total silence after the sirens I won't hear them but like if I move or rub my clothes I will.

This almost disappeared at some point, then came back and disappeared again though at the moment I feel like it's coming back at a mild level. This is very disturbing indeed. I had an MRI and they didn't tell me anything about temporal bones lesions.

 

[GregCA]

I had an MRI and they didn't tell me anything about temporal bones lesions.

I think a CT scan would be more appropriate to locate bone lesions.

 

[Ed209]

I think a CT scan would be more appropriate to locate bone lesions.

Temporal lobe lesions are in the brain. If I experienced any of these symptoms my first priority would be to see a specialist and get some tests done.

If they came back clear then I'd look towards alleviating stress in my life. I think stress is often downplayed, but it can lead to significant problems.

Have a read of this:

BACKGROUND: The connection between psychopathology and tinnitus is complex and not adequately studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between tinnitus and psychiatric comorbidities from different points of view: categorical, dimensional, temperamental, and perceived stress level. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-nine patients affected by tinnitus were recruited between January and October 2012. Patients underwent a preliminary battery of tests including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Symptom Check List (SCL90-R), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and Stress-Related Vulnerability Scale (VRS), and eventually a full psychiatric evaluation. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen patients (48% of the total sample) presented psychiatric comorbidity. Among these, a higher prevalence of depression, somatization, obsession, and anxiety was found. More than 41% of patients affected by decompensated tinnitus reported a family history of psychiatric disorders. Significant positive correlations between the psychopathological screening tools (SCL90-R and VRS) and THI were found. Patients affected by comorbid psychiatric disorder showed specific temperamental and characterial predispositions. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric comorbidity in subjects affected by tinnitus is frequent. Stress can be considered as a factor leading to damage and dysfunction of the auditory apparatus. The vulnerability to neurotic disorders and the lack of coping capabilities can play a critical role in the clinical history of patients affected by severe tinnitus.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...al_experience_of_the_psychosomatic_connection

 

[SilverSpiral]

Temporal lobe lesions are in the brain. If I experienced any of these symptoms my first priority would be to see a specialist and get some tests done.

If they came back clear then I'd look towards alleviating stress in my life. I think stress is often downplayed, but it can lead to significant problems.

Have a read of this:

BACKGROUND: The connection between psychopathology and tinnitus is complex and not adequately studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between tinnitus and psychiatric comorbidities from different points of view: categorical, dimensional, temperamental, and perceived stress level. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-nine patients affected by tinnitus were recruited between January and October 2012. Patients underwent a preliminary battery of tests including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Symptom Check List (SCL90-R), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and Stress-Related Vulnerability Scale (VRS), and eventually a full psychiatric evaluation. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen patients (48% of the total sample) presented psychiatric comorbidity. Among these, a higher prevalence of depression, somatization, obsession, and anxiety was found. More than 41% of patients affected by decompensated tinnitus reported a family history of psychiatric disorders. Significant positive correlations between the psychopathological screening tools (SCL90-R and VRS) and THI were found. Patients affected by comorbid psychiatric disorder showed specific temperamental and characterial predispositions. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric comorbidity in subjects affected by tinnitus is frequent. Stress can be considered as a factor leading to damage and dysfunction of the auditory apparatus. The vulnerability to neurotic disorders and the lack of coping capabilities can play a critical role in the clinical history of patients affected by severe tinnitus.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...al_experience_of_the_psychosomatic_connection

I didn't read the paper, but what exactly does "stress can be considered as a factor leading to damage and dysfunction of the auditory apparatus"? Is this referring to the stressed brain failing to adapt to hearing loss as it regularly does, resulting in tinnitus, or is it saying that stress is a contributing factor to hearing damage on an inner ear level from noise exposure? It's both isn't it? Dang autism got me screwed on all sides!

@Lex I never heard of this palinacousis, but I was recently reading about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysacusis which sounds like a description of the hearing distortion I have. The fun never ends.

 

[GregCA]

Temporal lobe lesions are in the brain.

But wasn't the statement about temporal bone lesions, not lobe?

 

[Ed209]

I didn't read the paper, but what exactly does "stress can be considered as a factor leading to damage and dysfunction of the auditory apparatus"? Is this referring to the stressed brain failing to adapt to hearing loss as it regularly does, resulting in tinnitus, or is it saying that stress is a contributing factor to hearing damage on an inner ear level from noise exposure? It's both isn't it? Dang autism got me screwed on all sides!

@Lex I never heard of this palinacousis, but I was recently reading about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysacusis which sounds like a description of the hearing distortion I have. The fun never ends.

Silver, the main hypothesis from the studies I've read, relating to stress and tinnitus, is that extended periods of stress (from hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline) can cause physical damage to your inner ear (calcium deposits) and it can shrink your brain.

The other issue with anxiety and depression is that some people are susceptible to somatisation. In reality, this can be a perception change which makes tinnitus much worse, and it can lead to other pyschological problems.

This of course is all mixed in with real physical damage - which makes it a minefield - and the two always interact on some level. Whatever affects the mind affects the body, and often this can turn into real physical symptoms.

@Lex, I wasn't saying you're a hypochondriac. Your symptoms could be on a physical level, but you must get yourself checked out.

 

[Ed209]

But wasn't the statement about temporal bone lesions, not lobe?

The physical cause of palinacousis is a lesion on the temporal lobe of the brain. It can be accompanied with seizures.

 

[GregCA]

The physical cause of palinacousis is a lesion on the temporal lobe of the brain. It can be accompanied with seizures.

Got it. I was going by @VRZ78 's statement, but you are right it's the temporal lobe that is involved.

 

[SilverSpiral]

@Ed209, I've not read about chronic stress effecting the inner ear, I had read more theories regarding that stress at the time of hearing damage leads to increased damage due to cortisol/glutimate stuff creating excitotoxicity or something.

 

[Ed209]

@Ed209, I've not read about chronic stress effecting the inner ear, I had read more theories regarding that stress at the time of hearing damage leads to increased damage due to cortisol/glutimate stuff creating excitotoxicity or something.

Yea Spiral, you're on the right path.

Here's a quote from some research that gets straight to the point:

According to Professor Birgit Mazurek, "All these stress-induced mental changes can also influence auditory phenomena, leading, for example to the development of tinnitus or the exacerbation of an existing tinnitus. In the ear, cortisol causes a massive release of glutamate into the neurons. This ultimately leads to a greater accumulation of calcium, which damages auditory sensory cells and nerve cells in the ear."

 

[SilverSpiral]

Yea Spiral, you're on the right path.

Here's a quote from some research that gets straight to the point:

According to Professor Birgit Mazurek, "All these stress-induced mental changes can also influence auditory phenomena, leading, for example to the development of tinnitus or the exacerbation of an existing tinnitus. In the ear, cortisol causes a massive release of glutamate into the neurons. This ultimately leads to a greater accumulation of calcium, which damages auditory sensory cells and nerve cells in the ear."

Wow, how depressing, stress can lead to declination of hearing on a biological level, and t/h/hearing damage/loss cause stress... that can't be good, I think that's whats called a "negative feedback loop"?

 

[Ed209]

Wow, how depressing, stress can lead to declination of hearing on a biological level, and t/h/hearing damage/loss cause stress... that can't be good, I think that's whats called a "negative feedback loop"?

Ultimately, there's a lot going on in the brain when we are continuously stressed out or anxious. It's hidden from us, so I think we completely underestimate the effect it is having.

I personally think there's a link between noise damage (physical damage), stress, and how tinnitus manifests itself. There are so many cases of people getting tinnitus because of burnout, times of emotional burden, grief etc that it's hard to ignore. Maybe a key difference between tinnitus switching itself on, or not, is down to our hormonal balance and brain chemistry around the time the damage occurs?

It's obviously all hypothetical, but I find it interesting how some of us get tinnitus and some of us just lose our hearing. Is it genetic? What the hell's going on? It genuinely intrigues me and it's the million dollar question. Is it really down to our brain chemistry?

A really common thread that pops up time and again is that the person was stressed out around the time their tinnitus started. And more interestingly, their tinnitus became worse when they were told to go home and live with it. That's a huge anxiety spike right there. I see case after case of extreme stress and significant worsening going hand in hand.

My tinnitus acts like a barometer. When I'm stressed it automatically reacts and rises in intensity, and I know many others who experience this. It also changes whenever I sleep; another mechanism of altering the brains chemistry.

 

[Alue]

Yea Spiral, you're on the right path.

Here's a quote from some research that gets straight to the point:

According to Professor Birgit Mazurek, "All these stress-induced mental changes can also influence auditory phenomena, leading, for example to the development of tinnitus or the exacerbation of an existing tinnitus. In the ear, cortisol causes a massive release of glutamate into the neurons. This ultimately leads to a greater accumulation of calcium, which damages auditory sensory cells and nerve cells in the ear."

I have heard experts take both sides of that argument. Some say stress plays little role in tinnitus onset, others say the opposite. I think one thing we can both agree on is avoiding unnecessary stress is a good idea.

 

[Lex]

Sorry @Ed209, my defensiveness is way higher than it used to be after being told by countless people -- from medical professionals to well-meaning loved ones -- that my condition is caused by anxiety. Also your first post could have been worded better.

I finally got what you're saying in your responses to GregCA and SilverSpiral.

But I'm scared to get an MRI because it's so noisy. It might aggravate my H. And I don't have seizures. I also find it somewhat relieving that a handful of other H sufferers experience this, so I think it's just part of the whole condition, and not a separate one.

~~~

@VRZ78, yes, it's disturbing! I would also find it fascinating if it weren't getting intrusive.

One manifestation of palinacousis is hearing someone speaking in the voice of the last person you spoke to. This hasn't happened to me and I hope it won't! But considering that, it kinda makes sense that you don't hear the phantom sounds in silence. They need to ride on other sounds.

I'm never in total silence (because of the T, I need to have at least a fan on) and so I won't know if the phantom sounds would persist for me with no other external sounds. Interestingly, this happens only at the office (which has ambient noise of 65-70 db) and not at home (which has ambient noise of 40-50 db), even when passing sirens are audible to me in both locations. Maybe I don't experience the phantom sounds at home because it's much quieter?

 

[VRZ78]

Sorry @Ed209, my defensiveness is way higher than it used to be after being told by countless people -- from medical professionals to well-meaning loved ones -- that my condition is caused by anxiety. Also your first post could have been worded better.

I finally got what you're saying in your responses to GregCA and SilverSpiral.

But I'm scared to get an MRI because it's so noisy. It might aggravate my H. And I don't have seizures. I also find it somewhat relieving that a handful of other H sufferers experience this, so I think it's just part of the whole condition, and not a separate one.

~~~

@VRZ78, yes, it's disturbing! I would also find it fascinating if it weren't getting intrusive.

One manifestation of palinacousis is hearing someone speaking in the voice of the last person you spoke to. This hasn't happened to me and I hope it won't! But considering that, it kinda makes sense that you don't hear the phantom sounds in silence. They need to ride on other sounds.

I'm never in total silence (because of the T, I need to have at least a fan on) and so I won't know if the phantom sounds would persist for me with no other external sounds. Interestingly, this happens only at the office (which has ambient noise of 65-70 db) and not at home (which has ambient noise of 40-50 db), even when passing sirens are audible to me in both locations. Maybe I don't experience the phantom sounds at home because it's much quieter?

Strange, for me it's kinda the opposite, it happens more in quiet environment. I think it's because otherwise the sounds are drowned in other sound so they don't stick, although I rarely hear sirens in loud places, I mostly hear them at home because I live next to a hospital. For me it had to be a continuous sound that is the only one present, then I'm pretty sure it will stick for a while... But again this has pretty much faded, but it used to be really annoying, I would hate to put a fan on for exemple or I'll hear it in other sounds after. At the beginning when I still had the virus those sounds would make me dizzy

 

[PaulBe]

from medical professionals to well-meaning loved ones -- that my condition is caused by anxiety.

Don't you get so sick of hearing that? I f'n do.

 

[Ed209]

Don't you get so sick of hearing that? I f'n do.

Paulbe, sometimes it's just outright damage to the inner ear that causes our problems, whether that be hair cell damage, nerve damage, or neuronal damage in the auditory cortex. What cannot be ignored however is anxiety. If there's one thing about this forum that shows a certain commonality amongst us all, it's anxiety.

There are many people who live very happily with varying degrees of T and H. Statistically, we are the minority unfortunately. Now before I get shouted down, I will add that there are people here with serious physical damage to their ears causing all sorts of problems. I think the more anxious of us in society suffer the most, because of our lack of coping skills. I think some people believe they aren't anxious as well, but I'd say that their biology might beg to differ. Not in all cases, because the world is full of complexity that we just cannot understand.

I think it's very likely that many people on here have undiagnosed anxiety disorders and/or clinical depression along with their tinnitus and hyperacusis.

 

[PaulBe]

I think it's very likely that many people on here have undiagnosed anxiety disorders and/or clinical depression along with their tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Kind of like its hard-wired in there, but not evident until a suitable trigger comes along? I suppose you could say that of anyone, anytime. You don't fully know yourself until you confront real adversity (whatever form it takes) I suppose.

 

[Vukis]

In another episode of the "What New Symptom Will I Have Today" reality show, palinacousis makes an appearance. Hopefully this will not become another crappy main character in the sad story that is my life.

I'm not even sure if it's palinacousis because it's apparently caused by lesions in the temporal lobe. But I already have malfunctioning ears and possibly, damaged auditory cortex, so why not add a lesioned temporal lobe to the mix?

Anyway, palinacousis is "an auditory form of perseveration — continuing to hear a sound after the physical noise has disappeared." I've experienced this a few times the past seven months but it's gotten increasingly intrusive. Earlier, I heard a lot of sirens in the streets below because of a fire in some other part of the city. The firetrucks passed by one after the other within a time frame of 15 minutes or so.

I heard the sirens persistently for almost two hours after that. It's not earworm which you know it's inside your head. I can hear the sirens as external sounds. It's like there were firetrucks still passing below, but there wasn't any.

This wasn't painful, but it was still a disturbing experience. Has anyone else encountered this firsthand?

Maybe next time, I'll hear Professor X invite me to his institute.

Hi Lex, do you still have these issues?

 

[xyz]

I have the same. Didn't even know there is a scientific name for it. I just call it "echo hearing". @Lex how is it going for you? I have a "silent MRI" scheduled in April.

 

[in_LA]

I have a "silent MRI" scheduled in April.

How do you get a silent MRI?

 

[xyz]

How do you get a silent MRI?

It wasn't a silent MRI. That was just advertised on their website this way.

 

[Nettles]

I got palinacousis from Prednisolone.