Acoustic Trauma — 1 Year Later — Even After Many Setbacks, It Gets Better

I wanted to make a post since it's been an entire year of living with moderate hyperacusis & tinnitus and I feel I may be able to give some hope to people.

If you have recently been afflicted with this horrifying condition I just want you to know that it becomes easier to deal with as long as you avoid noise levels which cause pain. It's totally OK to have sound in your life as long as it's at a level which is tolerable. I know some will disagree, but I feel living with hyperacusis absolutely REQUIRES the use of earmuffs/earplugs when in ANY environment which exposes you to any significant chance of loud noise occurring. Without proper protection, being alive is torture. In the beginning I avoided wearing protection but I feel this further delayed any recovery.

So, 1 year later, how has it improved? Well for starters I no longer have ear fullness or jaw pain/soreness! It took around 8 months to go away. My tinnitus has pretty much leveled out at a ~4.5/10 and I'm at the point where it doesn't bother me very much at all. The hyperacusis was extremely bad in the first month or so and I believe it has improved due to avoiding painful sounds. It still sucks, but I am so much happier now. Trust me, your condition will improve as long as you don't experience setbacks often. Over the past year I've experienced dozens of extremely loud and painful noises which I thought would be the end of me, but I'm still standing. As long as you try your best to limit how often they happen you should be just fine in the end.

Feel free to ask questions about my experience, I'll answer you when I can.

Earmuff recommendations:
In general the Peltor X series is hands down the best and most comfortable brand of muffs I've used and I've tried quite a few. I use the X1A during conversations or anything that's slightly too loud to tolerate, X4A for basic grocery trips or quick stops, and the X5A for anything louder. If you are like I was and had jaw pain which prevented the use of tight-fitting muffs, I'd recommend anything with a bare bones wire frame which is bendable to your liking such as the Optime 95's or 105's. Keep in mind that the looser the fit, the less protection you'll get.

 

Thanks for the positive story.
Did you have any spikes from noise events that made the fullness/H get worse for a while?

 

Thankyou for sharing. I have T and H from both ototoxicity and subsequent noise exposure. Its been 3 months so far of not being able to leave the house. You have given me hope, thankyou.

 

I don't have any earmuffs. Do you think plugging in ear phones but not using them will help the same way? @Jack Barnes

 

I do that with Bose quiet comfort headphones. I just wear them like earmuffs. With Hypercusis i cant even stand active noise cancelling on as it gives me nerve pain in my ears.

 

Well, I guess I might have to bust out my old dusty headphones and use them as ear muffs. Do you play music as well?