New and Worried....

Hi everyone,

I'm glad I found this forum. I keep trying to tell others around me what's going on and they just don't get it. I was dx'd with hyperacusis in 2000. I have multiple sclerosis and they think that was what caused the hyperacusis in my right ear. I still have it, but it's become manageable over time - perhaps the nerve healed up some.

For the last few weeks I've been experiencing worsening tinnitus. I've had tinnitus pretty consistently for the last few years but it's not been debilitating. Especially this week it's become just awful. I can't concentrate and I just want to sleep (which hasn't been going well).

I take a number of meds but nothing new except a statin. I took statins for years without any issue so not sure if that is an issue. I did stop 2 days ago but no change.

It seems to be getting louder and louder. I can't imagine living like this all the time.

There seems to be no hope for help, especially here in Mississippi. I used to have a great audiologist who specialized in hyperacusis and tinnitus back in CT but doctors/medical options here are SO limited.

I'd love any advice, experience, etc. about how to find ways to control this. I am very familiar with white noise having hyperacusis and use it regularly.

Thanks in advance,

Barri

 

Welcome Barri and sorry to hear you are suffering. T is such devil that when our mind is trapped into monitoring it, then it has us under its control. You are experiencing an increase or spike lately. Perhaps the spike will settle down. It may be caused by something which can be rectified. I am no expert on T and can't answer things medically or technically to be of help. We have the Treatment forum here where members discuss the latest treatments.

As for the increase, T can spike for no reason. But sometimes it can be caused by the foods we eat, such as caffeine, alcohol, MSG, etc. Sometimes it can be caused by sleep issue. A good sleep can benefit a lot to relax things. Sometimes, as in my case, sleep apnea causing oxygen deprivation to the brain can increase T. TMJ is another issue known to cause increase in ringing.

I just want to see if you can help yourself by the reaction side of thing. The reaction to T can decides the intrusiveness of T. In this regard, please read up on Dr. Nagler's Letter to a Tinnitus Sufferer. At then end of it, he asks the readers to learn to write down their negative thoughts and challenge them with more realistic or positive ones. We are a product of what we think. So if we can deal with T from the reaction side of things, then at least the ball is in our hand and we can do something ourselves to improve on our condition. How do I know? Because a few years back my ultra high pitch T and severe hyperacusis gave me hell. I suffered mightily thinking that future is all bleak. But after reading up on the success stories and following the insights shared by members, my condition slowly improve. Now I am living a normal and absolutely enjoyable life and I write my success story to share my experience like others. So never give up hope.

In the mean time, if the increased T bugs you, try masking it. I used to mask all day so I didn't panic so much. You can get a sound machine for bed time masking, an ipod/MP3 player or smart phone for mobile masking, or use PC. I download a free sound generator 'aire freshener' on my PC at home and at work, so I can get masking whenever I was on my PC. Also, as a last resort, if your anxiety level is too high to cope, you can get meds from doctors to help you. Just phase it out later when you are getting better. Take care and God bless.

 

Thanks I'm actually kind of an expert on masking having had hyperacusis for years. I live with white noise at home and couldn't last without it! However, with the tinnitus it seems to just get louder with the noise. Does that make sense to others?

 

That is good that you have masking helping you a bit. I had H also soon after T. It turned all normal sounds glassy in quality and all sounds were piercingly hurtful to the senses. It made all sounds like much louder and T got aggravated. So I once considered such thing as 'sound reactive' T. I had to wear ear plugs all the time but it was tough to block off all sounds when T became unbearably dominant. I talked a bit about my struggle in my success story. It is a bit long, and for brevity I provide the link to it if you are interested. If you have more questions on the H or some points I mention there, you can leave a comment and I will answer you there.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/