After 13 Years of Habituation, Feeling Suicidal and Hopeless

To start turn this around, you would have to stop overprotecting with using ear protection inside your own home.

Even though it will be a rough ride, the alternative with continuing to overprotect will be way worse.

Normal sound levels at home won't make you worse permanently, even though you feel that way and you are afraid of that happening. You will react, yes, but you would have to work with that - over time.

Your limbic system at this point is probably off the grids, and you are super alert and feel fragile. But this can get better - but not without exposure to sound.

It's easier to turn this around if you would get backup and support from someone that has great knowledge within this field - for instance a counsellor with expertise in hyperacusis and the likes.

There is hope Travis, even though you may feel hopeless, tired and anxious where you are now.

 

Thank you for the reply. I have stopped protecting inside. My tinnitus has just reacted up to a piercing buzz that there is no way to ignore, but hopefully somehow it levels out. I am not getting pain as of now.

 

Have you considered seeing professional help to get some support and counselling? It might do you good as this struggle can be too hard to cope with on your own.

 

Yeah I talk with someone. Just doesn't help the piercing tinnitus one bit.

 

Talking with someone doesn't help tinnitus per se, no... But if you are talking with someone knowledgeable about tinnitus and hyperacusis, there can be some crucial support and advice given to you...

Talking of experience.

In the end, only we ourselves can turn things somewhat to the better. And for reactive tinnitus, which in my opinion is a subset of hyperacusis, this could improve with time...

 

@Magwell, how are you doing now? Similar to yourself, I have suffered from tinnitus and hyperacusis for over 12 years and was coping well overall. 2 weeks ago I caught COVID-19 and my tinnitus has ramped up to insane levels. I am back to struggling with anxiety, no sleep and dark thoughts again.

Did you manage to habituate again? I need some hope right now.

 

Try steroids? A friend of mine found doing a steroid taper reduced her head noise after COVID-19.

 

I would but in the UK, unless you go to A&E with sudden hearing loss, steroids are impossible to get hold of. So I've been taking anti-inflammatories such as NAC, Turmeric and Ginger but they are making no difference.

 

Try low-dose Naltrexone.

 

Yes, I have seen Naltrexone prescribed for long COVID-19 symptoms.

Addiction drug shows promise lifting long COVID brain fog, fatigue

 

Following all of your advice here only made me worse. Protecting from sounds inside is definitely necessary. Talking with anyone doesn't do shit when you lose all sound tolerance and are tortured beyond belief.

 

Whoah that is some dangerous advice. How do you know protection leads to worse hyperacusis? Can you show us evidence?

Many people, including myself, have become permanently worse from noise which should not be loud and long enough to damage our hearing.

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself, and what has worked for me.

If a part of this forum isn't sharing personal experiences, than pardon me... As I've written in my post, talking from my own experience.

Every case is different, every person is different. What works for one person, doesn't comply to everyone. That should be quite obvious.

I don't do medical advice, and a lot (majority) of the stuff/posts on this forum is made up by personal experiences - with little to no evidence. But we try to support and help each other by sharing.

I don't know what your agenda with this is, but I think you should think before you speak. I do NOT have certain answers for anything on regards to hyperacusis and tinnitus - and I don't believe anyone else on the forum has either. Or else we would have a cure by now.

I won't let such comments stop me from sharing experiences that may be of use for some people.

@Travis Henry, you need to find out yourself what works for you or not, and stop blaming others. Think before you speak. Not sure what your intention is, but I do understand you are in a really bad place. And for that I'm sorry. But whether or not you should cover up or not, that's totally up to you. I'm just speaking of my experience. Which experiences you choose to follow, or try out, is your own choice and responsibility.

Stop blaming others for you being in a bad place, and again, think before you speak. I will pardon you for this as I assume you are not yourself these days. I do hope you get better one day... Best of luck.

 

@Travis Henry, I truly believe you can turn this around. Both myself and @MindOverMatter have had tinnitus for years, but I truly believe that seeking the right support of people who understand hyperacusis and tinnitus is so important and I do totally agree with @MindOverMatter with his reply.

I have had counselling and so much support over the past year of people who understand tinnitus and hyperacusis. You must reach out and find the right professional people who can treat this and they are out there...

It’s so easy to get lost in our thoughts and delirium with this but you can get better with the right support. It takes time and patience x You can do this x

 

I'm shaking my head here man. You're the one telling Travis Henry what to do, yet apparently I'm the one with a hidden agenda and should think before I post. Okay.

Never in your post did you indicate this was your experience. For what it's worth, I fully agree that every person is different. I don't doubt that you have improved with exposure to sounds. If you had stated in your post that you got better that way, I wouldn't have an issue wit hit. Yet you framed it as objective facts. If I interpreted that wrongly, my bad.

But that doesn't mean exposure will help everyone. Travis Henry and I are 2 examples of getting worse by it.

 

Really @Nobody19? It's written there, and it's written on many of my posts. Experience based. Yes, your bad, totally, if you interpreted it in such a way.

Most of my posts, and MANY others posting here, are based upon personal experiences - good or bad. You choose what to read, and what to do - but what will work out for you is out of my control.

What turned out to be a positive experience for me, accompanied with professional counseling over more than 2 years, might not work out for everyone. We all know by now there is no certain cure to tinnitus and hyperacusis, so a lot of it is a process of what may and may not work out for us.

 

I am sorry. I am definitely mad at the world. I've been bread into the blame game all my life by being labeled the black sheep of the family when I really was the only one telling the truth, other than my dad. So it's been a hard life for me in that area. I just wish I had trusted my gut. My audiologist promoted sound therapy to someone who just damaged their ears and was diagnosed with hyperacusis... and suggested to not protect from normal noise, even though I told her my tinnitus wasn't stable and was causing me distress... WTF . GO WALK ON THAT BROKEN LEG! Ugh.

I love everyone on this forum no matter what. I hope everyone never hears what I am hearing. It is the worst shit I can imagine anyone hearing tinnitus wise.

Anyone reading this considering letting someone prescribe you benzos or taking them, DON'T.

Protecting your ears will not make you worse in my opinion and I am no doctor. But time and silence is the best cure & any sound you can tolerate. Control your sound big time if you have hyperacusis.

Much love to everyone. Even @Gb3 or whatever his name is. I am sorry I am stuck in such a blame game, now even more that I am suffering. I've lost all quality of life.

 

I have found the combination of 25 mg Sertraline (Zoloft) and 5 mg Pro-Zopiclone for 3 months completely shut my tinnitus down. The Pro-Zopiclone (a non-benzodiazepine) helps with sleep and tone down the tinnitus, and for some reason it seems that after 3 months, Sertraline had a inhibitory action on the tinnitus that lasted months.

It did come back later, but in a much lesser form and I have habituated again. To this day I keep the Sertraline + Pro-Zopiclone combo in my back pocket in case it affects my mood again.

Good luck to you all.