twa

@Jupiterman my surgery is the 29th. They postponed it for a few weeks. I'm planning on wearing earplugs. I'll let you know how it goes. :-)

Hi @Jupiterman I had surgery a week ago and I'm home recovering. Everything went well. The dr let me wear my earplugs. I did not notice a change in T/H.

@Daniel Lion thanks so much. They postponed my surgery for two weeks, thank you for the encouragement. I'm trying to stay calm.

I have, quite a bit. My hyperacusis is mild to moderate and my tinnitus reactive. I just use hearing protection and fly. It worsens things for a while (a day or two) but what are you going to do?

@AfroSnowman good to hear from you. I used to fly quite a bit to travel and to conferences for work. The last time I flew was 6 years ago to Florida. Honestly, I still struggle with my hyperacusis, especially like music at church or loud restaurants. I feel badly that my family cannot fly places for vacations because of my condition.

@Andrew40 I'm having surgery for another issue. My concern is wearing the earplugs during surgery and tinnitus level after. I'm not sure the type, I have tinnitus 24/7 and it does change sounds. The hyperacusis is better at times, but always there with loud sounds.

Certain types of anesthesia can worsen ear symptoms if you're also being intubated. Are you concern about sound or the chemicals involved?

I will probably be intubated. I know I will be fully sedated.

Thanks guys! Did they help you?

i was considering st. john's wort for a bit when i was going through a dark time. I never could bring myself to try it. It is still sitting on my shelf. report back if you do try it.

Haven't found an SSRI that doesn't make mine worse. Gabapentin helps though, as long as I stay below a certain threshold, but as tolerance builds it seems I need more and more so I usually cycle taking it.

Not sure.

I brought a Blendjet after T and was told it was between 50-60 at lab tested. I have not tried testing the sound, but it is defintely much quieter than my Blendtec (sounds like a rocket every time I use it). I also have an Omega juicer which I think is also quieter than my Blendtec.

Wow that's amazing. Congrats on your improvement.

I'm really happy for you, and hope to get to the same place oneday!

Thank you friends! My husband's loud voice is still too loud, but I just put my earplugs in. I wear musician's earplugs outside the house, but life is much more normal.

That's crazy! How's winter time for you?

I live in the mountains. Elevation change sets mine off

@Mo8409 winter seems to be ok, although my arthritis gets bad and I'm really stiff. @AfroSnowman we used to travel to the mountains every January and I had issues with my ears stopping up, but that was years before my current ear issues.

Standing in coffee shop this morning at work the fire alarm drill went off. I of course had ear plugs in but it was so damn loud. I swear it lasted minutes but probably in reality only lasted 30 seconds. Loud! Hopefully I’ve escaped a further spike

Way to go!

You are one strong lady! Xx

How do you teach with hyperacusis? Do you have to wear earplugs? Thank you :)

wow thats really inspiring to hear! how were u able to live w it? and what were/are ur H symptoms?

i'll add that i'm struggling with knowing if i have it or not so i'm isolating from loud noises/earphones just in case but i suffer from severe anxiety and fear of noxacusis

@Ellaenchanted868 thank you! I tried my best to focus on my goals and not to think about it. I had severe sound sensitivity. I had burning or sizzling feeling in my ears. I also had muffled hearing, headaches and tinnitus. My husband's footsteps were too loud at first. I could barely watch tv. I wear earplugs outside the house anywhere I go. It got better over time.

i'm glad to hear you're doing better! it gives me hope

Hi @twa 3M Peltors are very comfortable and help attenuate another 10 dB on top of ear plugs. What movie would you like to see?

@kingsfan I have musician's earplugs, I'm not really sure the nrr. I think I remember reading +/-27. @Joshua Macleod I'm not sure, I wanted to try to take my son. We used to go to the movies every week before my hearing issues in 2020 and the pandemic. He wanted to see the Barbie movie with a friend that's a girl, it's supposed to be sensory friendly.

@kingsfan and @Joshua Macleod thank you for the suggestions!

@Jammer During the pandemic, many churches began live-streaming their services on Zoom. If you're interested, you could remotely attend churches all over the world. The only downside is that the social aspect would be missing. (It's a tough call, I know. Being online isn't very social, but I do love the ability to lower the volume and hit "mute" whenever I want.)

I skip "worship" and only stay for the sermon since gaining tinnitus. I put my finger in my ear if it gets too loud.

It makes it difficult, but I have found some work arounds. I stay in the lobby/foyer until the music is over. In my usual church I go to the Living Room and watch it on the tv. I'll keep working on it. I refuse to give up.

Can I ask what antihistamine

@hopefuldede I take an antihistamine made for kids without dyes or artificial ingredients. It's from Amazon, called Genexa. I take 5ml, which is a kid's dose.

If it's a bad day and my ear is really tight, I will take it twice a day with lots of water.

Yes, I began having hyperacusis in 2020 at the same time I had an acoustic event and also tinnitus. I had tinnitus the 3 years previous, but it was so very minor, like cicadas. After the event, when the hyperacusis and tinnitus became loud, I started getting headaches. Lately, I've had headaches every day, but I look at my log and they had stopped for a while.

Same here. Listening to music at a volume that can easily be drowned out by a passing car isn't really what listening to music ought to be like. Though, I'm grateful for my ears to have improved to the point I'm capable of listening to any artificially created noises without pain once again :)

I will always miss my headphones. Although I wish I had never touched them as I would not be here now. What's done is done. :)

@twa For both of us! How long have you had it twa? And did it get a bit better in that time?

@TheCapybara I'm dealing with inflammation in my right ear. I had a pretty stressful end of school and several nights with little sleep. I noticed my hyperacusis was worse and then I woke up this week with the high pitched flute when my son or a woman talked. I'm trying to get better rest and taking antihistamines. The flute sound got better, but I still feel pressure.

I still get random beeps over sounds that flares up on and off over 13 months since it began. No idea the triggers. Came back this time I think because of tmj or from fork dropped onto tile floor that radiated noise so loud I flinched. @twa

Sounds like you've had a lovely outing. I love that you don't let your tinnitus hold you back!

@Leila thanks so much! ❤

I agree with both of you, @twa and @Damocles.
The first rays of sunshine and everybody seems to be going for fun rides with their stereos blasting, fingers crossed their ears will prove more resilient than ours!

They will probably just lol at you and think you're delusional or something. Waste of time. It's a real shame people have to find out the hard way.

True, I worked briefly at a company the year before my hearing issue/event. They used loud saws in the factory area and I translated for guest employees. I had one person offer me earplugs and I said no thanks. He was the only person in the entire company who wore earplugs.

@Leila, thanks so much, doing better!
@Merlin, hyperacusis is much better, but loud noises can bother me. Previously, I used to live in fear of loud sounds. I no longer fear them, but I do wear protection outside of the house. Best to you!

@ErikaS thank you! I did not take any medications. I worked very hard to get off of all medications a few years before. I took supplements, ate an AIP-Paleo diet, walked a lot, prayed, cried and worked on developing health strategies to feel better. I applied for a doctoral program and applied to teach college.

@ECP education can be quite stressful and loud! The last 6 weeks are tough. I get one week off and then I start my last semester of coursework in my doc program. Yay!