Can Hyperacusis Worsen Tinnitus?

I have hyperacusis from a head injury along with a form of tinnitus that is possibly pulsatile tinnitus related.

I purchased a humidifier and after a month, I started waking up with my ears ringing, different to the low buzzing pulsatile tinnitus I was already experiencing.

Seems this humidifier has a motor with a high frequency. Could I have damaged my ears more?

If you have hyperacusis, can regular non damaging sounds to the average ear damage your ear? Like frequency from electronics that most people cannot even detect?

Having hyperacusis is as bad as tinnitus because you end up with ears of a canine. It may sound ‘neat’ to have super sonic hearing but in reality it is horrible as my ear picks up high pitch frequencies from electronics like a humidifier motor, table fan motor, etc. It is a high pitch buzzing and it permeates my ear.

I read online that if you have hyperacusis, normal everyday high frequency sounds (that the average person cannot detect) like motors/fans on electronic devices can be uncomfortable but CANNOT damage your ears. Any truth to that?

Any insight?

Thanks.

 

Yes, the ear is more prone to injury when one experiences pain hyperacusis, but it sounds like you have loudness hyperacusis, but yeah I guess the same rule will apply.

 

Thanks. Yes, it is loudness hyperacusis. There is no actual physical pain per se but it is immensely uncomfortable. A lot of ordinary things will give me that intolerable or bothersome ‘nails on a chalkboard’ type of sensation or a ‘fork scratching a plate’ type of sensation etc.

 

I doubt your humidifier damaged your hearing.

 

Do you notice any aching in your jaw and neck? Did you have pre-existing TMJ that got suddenly worse after acoustic trauma?

Does tinnitus and loudness hyperacusis seem to be tied together such as if tinnitus is bad then loudness hyperacusis is also bad, and on a good day both are lowered?

I'm just trying to understand the mechanisms at play in loudness hyperacusis.

 

I actually did not get T from noise, it was not acoustic trauma or noise induced. It was from a concussion and subsequent head trauma (physically assaulted).

As a result from being physically assaulted, I was hit in the head, side of the head, side of the face and jaw. My neck was also very sore following the incident. Oddly enough, my actual ear was not physically sore, nor swollen or bruised etc.

My T and H is unilateral, only on the side I was assaulted/hit.

Yes, they do seem linked. T and H are linked most of the time and they wax and wane. If for example, someone is getting pots out of the drawer and they clang together, both my T and H will spike momentarily and the pots lightly clanging together from 15 feet away can feel like someone smashing them together inches from my ear.

I have noticed that there is an emotional reaction to this as well, a severe spike in T and/or H, even if it only lasts minutes, can sometimes carry an emotional/mental feeling of being assaulted. It is hard to explain but this may be linked to the assault/trauma or it may just be a psychological development from the T and H.

Regarding, TMJ, I have suffered from nighttime BRUXISM since I was a child. My teeth are sensitive as a result (enamel is worn down) and at times I have woken up with a headache and sore jaw or tension in the jaw from grinding at night. My dentist has always done x-rays and has never commented on any issues regarding my jaw but I have had mouth guards made which I hardly wore until this past asssult in December. My jaw has been sore off and on, on the side I was assaulted and I have worn the night guard every night since I was assaulted back in December when the T and H started.

I am going in to see my Dentist in 2 weeks for a full evaluation of my jaw.

They did a CT scan at the hospital and no facial fractures were evident but I suppose there could be an issue with the disc slipping on the TMJ joint which is why I am planning on going in to have my jaw and TMJ joint/area fully evaluated by a dentist.

 

Have you done a hi-res CT scan of your temporal bone? Your doctors should be able to see the ossicles (malleus, incus & stapes) and perhaps spot something abnormal there. You need a very good doctor/surgeon to read those images.

 

No. I had blurred vision in one eye and the ER Doctor thought I might have had a lower orbital bone fracture so thus, they did a general CT scan of my face but it came back clean and the ER Doctor said the report showed no facial fractures so everything (as in symptoms) were likely just a result of bruising and swelling along with a concussion. The blurred vision has cleared up in the one eye but I still have the T and H along with headaches and a lower than usual tolerance for stress. From what I have read, most post concussion symptoms clear up within 3-12 months (including T and H) so I am not panicking yet. In most of the literature I have read online, only 15% go on to have persistent post concussion syndrome symptoms (Ringing in Ears, Hyperacusis, Headaches, etc.) after 1 year. So I am just trying to take it easy and give my body a chance to heal. Here is hoping I am in the 85%.

I am seeing an ENT in March. I can ask the ENT about the high res CT scan of the temporal bone when I see him (thanks) but the system here is pretty overloaded and from what I gather (reading experiences on here), most ENT Doctors are hit and miss with many being in the miss category but I am keeping my fingers crossed.