Acoustic Trauma from Car Speakers Resulting in Hyperacusis, Tinnitus and Ear Fullness

Hi guys, I was listening to music loud in my car when when there was a very loud part towards the end that got both my ears in slight pain. I slept on it and woke up with severe hyperacusis. There is a little bit of tinnitus that comes and goes. I then smoked weed (as a regularly do to cope) and it got my left ear feling super plugged for the first time.

It's been a week now and my right ear is feeling this as well. I feel like the left ear has slightly gotten better. The hyperacusis did get a lot better from the day after trauma. As of yesterday I went to get my ear checked, there was no visual damage. I was prescribed oral steroids in hopes that it'll help the healing but it's only a week's worth of medication. I have severe anxiety which isn't helping. It's actually best in the morning but listening to audio sometimes even at low volumes can trigger it. Chewing gums seems to help.

My questions are:
Should I avoid exercise while trying to heal?
Do I avoid low volume audio if hyperacusis occurs or do I ignore it to hopefully build resistance?
Any idea of a time frame it could take if this doesn't heal for the most part?

I am worried that it won't heal from the condition that I'm in now, is there hope that this will continue healing?

Thank you,
Jordan

 

Will almost certainly heal, takes patience... avoid bars, restaurants, loud music, cinemas. Don’t over protect... like don’t wear earplugs during conversations or watching tv or gaming... it’s a delicate balance... if you over protect the sensitivity goes up after a while.. but be very careful with your ears from now on. (This is just from my experience)

I found running hurt my ears.../ I switched to an exercise bike.....

After 3 months you should start making progress... I believe the younger you are the faster the body/ears heal (I’m no expert, just what I have experienced/learned/read)

 

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Did you fully recover? I just wanna get to the point where it doesn't affect my everyday life. I had to stop smoking weed now because it triggers the ear fullness for some reason, I was super dependent on weed for anxiety before this occurred, maybe that part is a blessing in disguise. The only way to get satisfaction is to elevate my head on pillows while laying down. How long was the recovery process for you?


I've been doing remedies to treat anxiety now because I feel it'll make it worse.

Also, do you guys think supplements will help?

Sincerely,
Jordan

 

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Did you fully recover? I just wanna get to the point where it doesn't affect my everyday life. I had to stop smoking weed now because it triggers the ear fullness for some reason, I was super dependent on weed for anxiety before this occurred, maybe that part is a blessing in disguise. The only way to get satisfaction is to elevate my head on pillows while laying down. How long was the recovery process for you?


I've been doing remedies to treat anxiety now because I feel it'll make it worse.

Also, do you guys think supplements will help?

Sincerely,
Jordan

 

I was 50% better after 9 months and had a major setback... back to the start...

 

Has there been much success second time around? With you 50 percent recovered was it making it a lot more manageable with everyday life?

 

When not wearing earplugs around the house during tv and talking, did you come tolerable over time to the irritation? It's almost like a sharp pain to an extent (hyperacusis) and tinnitus.

 

second time has not been good.

yeah 50% makes life a lot more easy...

 

I really do appreciate your answers, it relieved a lot of stress. Thanks so much for that.

I wish you the best in your recovery!

 

What caused your setback?

 

Factory Alarm... very small space.

 

Hi, my tinnitus has gotten a lot worse as of yesterday, but the ear fullness has stopped. The tinnitus is bothering me a lot. Do you think this is will die down? I am worried because i heard for most recovery cases the onset was immediate or within 48 hours of trauma.

 

No tinnitus can fluctuate for 6-12 months... give it time... try to remain calm and be kind to your ears....the ears heal very slowly... sleep might be difficult at the moment but will help a lot

 

Thanks once again, it's disappointing to see the lack of knowledge that doctors have on this subject.

 

There is no virtue to "building tolerance." If you can tolerate noise, that's great. If it hurts, stop immediately.

Low level noises that don't worsen you are also fine and good if you can handle them.

 

How are you doing though? Any further progress since the fire alarms went off?

 

Ok thanks, I wouldn't say hurt but its not comfortable even at low volumes sometimes. I found out that my laptop speakers were irritating my ears a lot so I switched to a higher quality one and it seems to be making a difference. I can watch videos now with almost no irritation at low volume.

 

Excellent advice - my ears hurt as well from running. Went running for three days in a row and my ears is worse as its ever been. Tinnitus is so so loud and ears burn like they have had very hot chili powder poured over them. Now have brought a bike though still so tempting to go running on a sunny afternoon. Yes I agree ears like most part of your body hear quicker when younger than older.

I got hyperacusis from an alarm too, though it was house alarm (lasted 3 min no earplugs).

 

very slowly progressing after 3 months...like my head doesn’t feel like it’s on fire

Trying not to be in too much quiet awwming to help now... going out to the part

Took me almost a year to realise running wasn’t a good idea...

 

Why it wasn't a good idea?

In theory exercise can't be bad...

 

Sorry previous response didn’t make sense... I have been going to the park and exposing my self to more noise, less time spent in doors.... I think I was spending too much time in isolation... not healthy

 

No problem, would you say that there has been a 5-10% improvement yet? Or not quite yet? I think it has only gotten worse for me since the onset, except for less ear fullness. I really do appreciate your response, it's a life saver and eases my anxiety.

 

Yes I find my ears seem to feel little better when outside with earplugs and don’t have that burning sensation. When I am indoors my ears constantly burn.

 

Well.... early in the day my ears are definitely more sensitive and then I carefully expose them to noise... just being out in the park, not wearing ear plugs, though I do have them and will wear them if required. After a few hours I can feel my ears are less sensitive... but yeah last week was hell... and now I’m starting to have a good couple of days

 

And yeah I know all about that anxiety, it’s all about staying busy and trying to live a somewhat normal life

 

Hi there, have you ever tried a benzo to help cope during the worse times? This gave me instant relief and I felt 80 percent cured overall, feel free to read my latest post.

 

yeah doctors in Ireland are kinda hesitant to give them out to easy... if I could get them I would definitely take them.....they have given me benzo sleeping pills which were great...I wake up in the middle of the night with neck pain and crazy tinnitus.... my neck is definitely aggravating my tinnitus... but sound sensitivity has decreased a bit this week... going to have a few beers to help with sleep tonight

 

If you want to bypass doctors, there are Benzos you can get online without a prescription. Google “RC Benzos”

 

Ok so my hyperacusis is pain hyperacusis, but it is noise induced from acoustic trauma... I was playing extremely loud music in my car after a stressful event. It's been 2 weeks with little to no improvement. I heard that the people with trauma related causes have the best chance of recovery compared to unknown causes.

Pink noise is very soothing for me (right now only for about 20 mins before its irritating)

Taking a look at this study, it seems very promising that someone with hyperacusis from noise induced trauma would make great recovery over a 6 month period.

I'm going to contact someone locally near me to get me on sound therapy tomorrow.

Any positive thoughts on this? Please avoid any comments that will raise anxiety levels.

 

That's not surprising, most hyperacusis improves over the first few months.