aab

Thanks. Not doing well.
Yesterday I had T spike, today I need to spend many hours with earplugs. My left ear is so sensitive to any sound.
How are you doing?
@4Grace

@abb sorry to hear. Trying so hard. I get better then try to live then worsen. I seem to worsen no matter what I do. I feel live and what ever happens happens. My friend has it loud. Took him 3 to 4 years. I would say I’m at my worst. :(. This protecting and staying in all the does not seem to work.

My h and n did get much better. I stopped being afraid of sounds. However sounds now do cause me anxiety. They are making T so much louder. My flight or fight went away. Now with latest worsening it’s back hard.

I really do believe that in the vast majority of loudness hyperacusis cases (where there is no physical cause to the hyperacusis, like SCDS or something like that), stress plays a significant role in perpetuating/increasing symptoms.

If you're unsure whether something like SCDS is causing your symptoms, then it could be worth it to get a CT scan of the temporal bone to rule it out. I am actually thinking of doing that myself, though I doubt I have it based on the symptoms. But it could be something worth pursuing if you feel it would help reassure you that exposing little by little is okay.

Thank you all for your support.

My T is still reactive 13 months later, but less. It was reacting to my own voice early on, now it is just mechanical noises like car engine, etc.

8 months and reactive T seems to go up and down. It's terrible right now. I am so fed up.

7 years for me @Tryn2BHopeful and I still don’t have any control over my situation.

But, when I am really really careful, as in live in a bubble, I seem to eventually get to a place where it diminishes to tolerable levels

@aab I am so sorry to hear. You sound similar to me. I am going through the same. I can’t believe it’s Christmas Eve and I am on here. All my family and friends are in celebration mode. I have never been so depressed in my life. Everyday of missing out is torcher. Just not happy no matter how hard I try.

What is HBOT?

HBOT is hiperbaric oxygen therapy. You go to hiperbaric chamber which is very loud and breathe air with 90% oxygen (or more) and pressure is higher than normal. I used 1.6 athmosperic pressure. It was helpful for me for many years but lately it is too loud for me even in double hearing protection. It is quite expensive. Read my posts in my wall about HBOT. @4Grace

@SharonBell I have hearing loss 60db from 15 to 18 kHz. Above 18kHz I don't hear anything - no response to sound. I know what hearing loss means at this range and how awful T is with such hearing loss.

Don’t do it!!!!!!!!! Please don’t…. Just clean your ear with your pinky. Don’t let no one stick any damn thing into your ear especially a dumbass doctor who don’t give a crap about you!

@stacey thanks for response. I send you a virtual hug. It's impossible to clean my ear with my pinky. Earwax is to deep in my ear.

I've frequently read not to do it if you have H. The common advice is to have it manually removed instead. Good luck!

@aab @ZFire does have a point. You do what works for you. I work in Neurology and this is what I've been given as a patient as also working with patients. If you have hearing damage then you have to take an easier approach to sound exposure. I don't have hearing damage. So my sound therapy is a little different. Why Hyperacusis happens is because the brain and ear can't communicate correctly.

@aab Something happened along the way. So the brain says "hey! This sound is painful." So in order to undo that is to slowly expose yourself to simple everyday noises. Dishes, TV, etc. obviously if it's a lawn mower you'd wear protection. I went though therapy at the University of Michigan and this is what helped me. You know the limits to your own body. So go forward with caution

@aab and yes I got rid of nox. It took 6 months. Like the fire guy said everyone is different and this isnt a one fits all cure or fix. Nox is a tricky thing to work with but it can be fixed with time.

Yes, hiperbaric oxygen chamber. Yes, for hearing loss.
Please notice it is helpful for me and for some people but when I advised my friend it was not helpful for her. So seems not for everyone.
Also chamber is very loud, I go there with double hearing protection.

And in hiperbaric chamber pressure is higher than athmosperic. I use hiperbaric chamber with 1.6 athmospheric pressure.

I have severe hyperacusis. So I have new accoustic traumas very often. 45db is too loud for me. Also After Valsalva maneuver things got worse. So HBOT helped for new T tone in my right ear.

Yes, I agree best to take HBOT short time after trauma. I got HBOT within 2 weeks from Valsalva.
Valsalva made my T worse but HBOT helped me. And I would not be so strict to 2 weeks, I think it is good to try even after 2 weeks. But anyway I am not a doctor and I do not recommend anything. I just share my experience, in my case HBOT was for sure helpful.

And this was not my first 3 HBOT sessions. After each new accoustic trauma, HBOT is helpful in my case. This is the only thing I am certain is helpful in my case. But I had a situation I recommended HBOT to another person and it was not helpful for her. So you never know before you try, nobody knows.