Coping with Everyday Noise — I Can Now Hang Around a Working Teakettle and Barely Feel Ear Pain

I can hang around my working teakettle and almost not feel ear pain. Ear and face spasms are still there though. I feel blessed.

 

Yay! So great to hear about people's improvement. Mine's definitely got a lot better since it started in January but still contending with some lingering facial 'pain' (it's more numbness and tingling as opposed to acute pain) in my forehead and a feeling of 'tightness' which is exacerbated by certain things (tinny speakers). Pretty much all of the other symptoms have subsided though so I'm hoping there's still room for improvement - it just seems to take time. Progress feels almost imperceptible when I track it day to day but if I look back to, say, the end of January there's a BIG difference. Just hope this all improves by the end of lockdown!

 

Good news. I'm glad you're doin' well. I have my tinnitus and hyperacusis for 5 months now. I hope I'll recover during 6-12 months period. Now I have something like 70% improvement. Ears heal really slowly. I can tell something about my progress only when one more month has passed. But sometimes improvement comes suddenly.

 

You too! Odds are you will continue to get better! Hyperacusis is really strange - sometimes improvement is really slow, sometimes it comes in fits and bursts. I try to zoom out and observe the month-to-month progression which has been showing progress.

 

Who would have thought... my laptop while cooling and my teakettle became my worst enemies while I'm at home. Ears react to them working with increased tinnitus and burning sensations/spasms in the head. Good thing that pain is gone. Other sounds do not bring discomfort anymore. 8 months in. Life became much easier.

 

@Vassili
@serendipity1996

The title of the post grabbed my attention.

Just want to say I'm very happy for both of you.

And "Thank You" for posting your improvements... very uplifting to read.

 

@Vassili
@serendipity1996
Would you pls share what treatments you’ve done for the hyperacusis to get better? I’m happy that you both have improvements. TIA

 

Yep the kettle test is a good one to pass.

I even managed to survive the "flinging down someone else's toilet seat forgetting it isn't soft-closing" test the other day.

 

Every sufferer out there needs hope and some kind of positive information, especially during first months.

 

Hello!

I would say that I didn't do anything special. Time is the main healer for me. But I did couple of things that may be sped up the process of healing.

These are:

1) I took Betaserc 200mg
2) I took vitamins (B-vitamins, D)
3) I am planning to start taking Magnesium
4) I always protect my ears while I'm outside (earplugs, old headphones without music)
5) Tried to sleep as much as I can (now I can do it without masking and it also seems to help)
6) Started eating healthy
7) Everyday I go for a walk or do some cardio
8) Tried not to be tired, worried or nervous
9) Tried to have positive mindset and hope for the better
10) Read this forum (only success stories)

I think only after 6 months I felt real improvement. Now it's been 8 months and I think I'm 80-85% cured. I still hope that I will heal in a year or so but actually I've given myself 2 years from day one.

for your question,

Do not lose hope and have a great day!

P.S.
I would love to write a success story but time will tell. I am so happy and thankful to be where i am now with this condition. I was in such a dark place, especially during first 5 months.

 

Basically, my kettle and laptop are the only problem for me when I'm at home. Ears react to them working and tinnitus gets slightly louder and also I get those good old spasms and burning sensations. But the pain is gone. I am really thankful for that. I can live with this discomfort and I hope that it will improve in the course of 2 years. Sometimes I get depressed but I quickly get rid of all the negative thinking. It's pointless to "weep", pointless to overreact, I'm tired of being sick and tired. It's just something that I have to go through. I am lucky that my parents understand my condition and give me support. It is really important.

Today I was outside and had an unexpected "test". A really loud ambulance rushed out of nowhere. My ears were plugged with my old headphones (they provide protection but can not be compared with earplugs). I thought that things would get worse and I would feel pain but it all turned out good. I did not feel any pain but I certainly felt how the noise just went into my ears and head and I had this clear understanding that my nerves are more sensible than usually. And after a couple of minutes I felt burning sensation in both ears and some facial spasms. I think 3-4 months ago I would have felt pain. Now I'm 8 months in and life became much easier.

 

Hiya

I'm not out of the woods totally yet - 6 months in. Ear pain went away at the end of March/beginning of April and hasn't returned so ears themselves have been feeling fine. I don't really have much loudness hyperacusis.

However, I still have lingering facial tightness concentrated in my forehead and temples. It waxes and wanes and for the past month or so has been more an annoyance than acutely painful or anything - but it still flares up when I listen to anything through tinny speakers so I have been avoiding that. Stimulants e.g. caffeine and lack of sleep also really seem to exacerbate it. It is getting better iust really gradually. Like I can live with it for now and it's more of a very dull lingering sensation that comea and goes but I have readjusted my expectations somewhat to be in this for the long-haul.

Basically I initially thought it would blow over really quickly in a matter of weeks but I think it's going to be a really gradual process. It's definitely improved some and I have started keeping a diary to mark my progress and the overall trend is getting better but I am trying not to put a timeline on it. After all, from what I've read here it's not unusual for a "noise injury" to take up to 12-18 months to heal so really to be 6 months in is nothing to panic about. I think I would be more worried if I hadn't seen any improvement over the past 6 months when actually things have got substantially better. Just trying to take each day as it comes tbh.

As for what I did - rest! I have just tried to rest my ears. Initially I went out with earplugs but once the burning ear pain went away in early April I stopped using them outside. Still carry them with me though and err on the side of caution.

By the way please excuse my typos - I typed this on my phone!

 

That's really a loud one!

 

It's interesting to see how hearing reacts differently for different people. My tinnitus sometimes reacts to computer fan for instance, but not sometimes and it does not annoy me much. However, I do get ear spams for instance if I get a phone call on speaker mode, and there is some interference, squeak, or unexpected sound... cellphone sound is hard... The bright side is that I very rarely talk on the phone, let alone on speaker mode.

 

@Vassili

Great to heat about your progression. You seem to be on the right track to "heal"

1) I took Betaserc 200mg

May I ask, what was the reason for you supplementing with this? Do you suffer by Menieres as well? Betaserc being a drug for dizziness in particular.

 

@serendipity1996

Thank you for a detailed reply. It gives me some ideas. I’m glad that you’re getting better. I’ll be doing a journal as well. Looks like rest, ear protections among other things are the key for improvement.

No worries about the typo, I appreciate the you taking the time in replying to me.

 

@Vassili

Thanks for replying and the encouragement. I‘m starting to realize that I need to avoid things that makes it worse.

What kind of earplugs do you use?

If you don’t mind me asking, how much dosage and how often did you take the supplements?

How long do you go for walks or do cardio and what kind of cardio?

I can’t wait for your success story!<3

 

I agree that cellphone sound is hard. I've used only speaker mode for the last 8 months. In the beginning it was even painful to talk on the phone but now I can't say that I feel any pain or discomfort but if a person with whom I am talking to is walking somewhere near traffic, for example, I start to hear all the traffic noise very clearly and intensively and it can turn this conversation into a couple of unpleasant minutes for me (without pain but with some sort of tension, may be even psychological one).

 

Hello!

I was prescribed Betaserc 200mg by my ENT because I had mild dizziness after my acoustic incident. It went away after 3-4 months. I do not suffer from Meniere's disease. Also, Betaserc increases blood flow specifically to the inner ear so it can help other vitamins that you take and your healthy diet to work more effectively. Betaserc did not cure me, but it sure sped up the process. When I took it (25 days) I felt worse, actually, but after the course I felt better.

 

Hello!

I use professional musician's earplugs. You can buy them at your local music store. There are lots brands so you can choose.

Supplements. Betaserc 200mg was prescribed by my ENT. Took it for 25 days (2 tablets per day after eating). Then waited three months and repeated the course. Vitamins. Just one capsule of B-vitamin complex, one capsule of D-vitamin and one capsule of Magnesium in the morning after breakfast. That's it.

Usually I walk for one hour in a quiet forest, if I'm in the mood I can walk for 2 hours. If it's raining outside I can do 30-40 min of standard cardio exercises without any weight lifting or hard exercises like pushups. You can find all sorts of exercises on the Internet. Exercise helps me battle depression and stay positive. Plus it increases blood flow.

 

My new interesting symptom would be a constant itchy nose. Some sort of tingling and burning in the right nostril makes me sneeze a lot. Also I feel some tension in my teeth all the time. Haven't felt this symptom for quite a while.

 

@Vassili

Thank you, I’ll check them out.
It must be a nice forest. That’s great you can walk that long and glad that it helps you mentally.

Hope your new symptom disappear quick and your recovery continues❤️

 

Thank you for your kind words.

 

@Vassili have you had any set backs? I had an issue with a blowdrier and I’m afraid it’s ruined everything although I did have ear plugs in. And last night I had dinner outside with a friend and I used ear plugs but the cars were still loud. I should of used foam ones but I wouldn’t have been able to talk with my friend.
Ugh, this is all so challenging. I felt like things were quieter a month ago and I took a step back.

 

After 17 months, the teakettle started sounding almost normal, I'd say 95% like it sounded before acoustic trauma. And no pain. Oh happy day!