Describe Your Hyperacusis / Noxacusis Symptoms

i used to listen to loud music and still be able to listen to external sounds.
and people would tell me "kid you are gonna go deaf!"
and i was like "yeah right, i have good hearing"
then... tinnitus came. lol

 

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They also warned me of that. That's why I've worn over-the-ear headphones, played at quiet volume, since I was a kid, instead of earbuds, which can boost volume by something like 9dB because they're inside the ear canal, even though the over-ear headphones made me look like an idiot. I've also never gone to a concert in my life.

When I did use earbuds or played loud music, I did it for only a few minutes at a time. Despite wearing headphones in BOTH ears, I somehow lost a little hearing ONLY in my left ear! Weird, right? This is why I think I didn't lose hearing from headphones. Maybe I lost it from medicine or some kind of physical trauma, because my left eye AND left ear AND left shoulder also have lots of problems.

Still have some kind of tinnitus, with no serious hearing loss. Go figure! In fact, my T is worse in the ear that has perfect hearing.

 

Its a mystery!!
i can totally relate, i was "too stupid" and i didnt know about the dangers of earbuds, i used to play the music loud, but not.. "that loud" if you know what i mean.
and yes.. the damage is only in my left ear, what happend to the other ear? lol
weird condition.

 

I even had an ABR to test for nerve damage when I suspected serious NIHL. This is a test where they attach electrodes to you and test how quickly/strongly your brain responds to sounds. If there is any significant loss or auditory nerve damage, the brainwave activity the ABR records is reduced (the "wave" is flattened) and the brain responds slower to the sound input the doctor plays in your ear.

Both my ears respond to all noise correctly and equally quickly in .001-.003 seconds (1-3 ms), which is basically instantaneous. I'm not deaf, but something is wrong... It feels like my left ear has reduced sensation as well as flatly reduced sound. If cold air from the AC blows into it, I don't feel it... it's like there's some kind of mucus blockage or muscular tightness. It feels FAR more "full" than it should for this level of "hearing loss." Every single sound that enters that ear is very clear but quieter, like someone turned the volume down on that ear 1 tick.

It's not like the examples of NIHL I've read about in the internet. Every sound that enters that ear, be it low-pitched (where I have no "loss") or high-pitched sounds a tiny bit quieter than it does in my right ear; But I STILL HEAR IT. There is no distortion. Even in loud environments like movie theaters and restaurants, I can understand speech well, but it just seems a smidge quieter than usual. The hearing threshold seems to be the same...

Doctors have spotted a persistent, tiny amount of fluid behind the left eardrum that doesn't seem to go away with time, valsalva, or antihistamines. It's not an infection. It's like it's leaking from somewhere inside...

It's hard to explain but, I can hear a 0dB sound that is barely audible (rustling leaves, faint computer fan) when my tinnitus doesn't mask it with my left ear, but the sound feels like it's -5dB.

 

i'm still at apoint where I don't know what the end result of the hearing dammage actually is. I can hear everything well enough. I don't know if it's a symptom of hyperacusis but Music really sounds like shit when I try to play it.
I'm dealing better with everyday sounds but I still feel like i'm having tube problems and I have a lot of fullness and tightness inside my ears. People talking sounds normal. I still play music on over ear headphones at a very low volume because I travel a lot and i'd rather hear something than just the tinnitus coming through. I decided to try turning it up just to see what it would sound like and man oh man it's horrible. All the low end is missing from the sound spectrum. It sounds like listening to music from inside a tin can. I love music so much but it looks like it will never sound good again. This blasted tinnitus is the worse too. I used to be able to completely ignore it all day every day but now it's so loud it's impossible.

 

I had tinnitus since I was a kid. I love music and always blasted it with headphones no problem. Never had a spike or got sore or anything ever. I went to a concert and it was too loud , like fucked up too loud. I was wasted and I guess I didn't really notice. The next day was like the hangover that never ended. And now here I am trying to figure out how to mitigate the damage but not really able to find a good solution yet. I guess there isn't one.

 

There isnt one yet,
Ring Ding, there are more and more studies lets hope this noise will finally end soon.

 

I've been noticing that when i use ear plugs it makes the fullness and pressure worse when I take them out. What do you guys think is the main cause for that , the eustachian tubes ?

 

@Ring Ding This may be because your ears become somewhat acclimatised to there being less sound, when you have earplugs in. When you take them out again, your ears then have to readjust to there being more sound, and I think this causes more pressure and fullness for a while. (Incidentally, I've found NAC 600 is quite good for reducing the daily ear fullness I have, I take one per day).
This is why it's recommended to use earplugs when it's 85dB or more in our environment, otherwise it may be counterproductive as I've just mentioned above.
This article explains it well: http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/whe...e-ear-damaging-loud-or-just-hyperacusis-loud/

 

my symptoms are hyperacusis, severe headaches (migraines?), head pressure, ear pain, muscle spamss in the ear, dizziness, one sided facial tension/pain, brain "zaps", and tinnitus. also my right eyelid twitches (same side of my face that feels tense and stingy.)

 

I had an accident aboard a tallship. The crewman yelled "fire in the hole" and I covered my ears, but when they were eventually able to get the cannon to light the explosion deafened me for an instant. My right ear cleared up right away, but I felt fullness and pressure in my left ear, the ear in which I lost most of my hearing in the range where people speak. The sound of the bed sheet against my ear sounded like sandpaper, and I had to whisper for months because my voice was booming. I didn't try to mask the horrible gift of tinnitus because the very thought of sound was horrible. I had a lot of crackling and popping, which came to a crescendo right before the fullness thankfully lifted, after a few months. Over the next year I respected my limitations but challenged myself, too, to turn up the music a notch at a time up the radio dial, and venture out without protectors, and within a year I was going to major sports arenas (though not football yet, but I'll get there maybe) wearing ear plugs and muffs at the same time. I didn't distinguish physical pain in my ears for three months or so, except for very very minor and occasional. From month 3 until month 20 I developed minor twinges of pain in both ears many times a day, with occasional soreness. I have had a few noise exposures without protection that have caused wincing pain that lasted for a few days of soreness. I don't think I have had headaches from this, other than the first week after the accident where I had a headache in a weird place, behind my left eye. In the first year some music sounded distorted or harsh and grating, and I'm grateful that has almost completely stopped.

In month 20 I stopped feeling pain, knock on wood, because this was only 3 months ago. I have had a few moderately loud noise exposures these months with no pain. I don't know if using essential oils which I started in month 20 is what took the daily aches away. I still cannot "tolerate" noises, particulary metallic or mechanical, that other people have no reaction to, and after a very loud noise I have a setback for several days where even relatively minor noises sound blaringly loud and cause me to recoil.

The strangest thing that happened which is I believe is also a component of hyperacusis (?): I spend a lot of time on the water sailing, and there are cannons and starting guns, etc., and I seem to have an uncanny ability to hear someone yelling across the water "fire in the hole!"from quite a distance. Twice now I've quickly reacted to this warning, while others around me are wondering why I've run below decks because they didn't hear a thing, until a few seconds later a shot rings out across the water. Now why can I hear this while wearing earplugs, when I can't even hear a person in the next room? So. Dang. Weird.

 

I feel like I actually had a setback today for the first time in weeks. I was doing so well tolerating all the sounds around me and have been pretty much without much pain( just a lot of fullness) until yesterday. All it took was some keys being tossed into a old coffee can. I can't even describe how horrible it sounded. The strange thing is they were very far away from me when it happened.My ears feel very sore now and my tinnitus feels like it's gotten higher pitched and louder. Ugh.

 

I went for a jog over the weekend. It was my first time trying to run in almost two years. After getting fibromyalgia in early 2015 I could barely move I was so weak. I noticed that I could really feel my pulse inside my ears. A little more in the right ear than the left. Also the breeze blowing inside my ears while I was running felt very strange ( like something in there was moving or fluttering). There is so much funny stuff going on in there. I find it so amazing that any time a doctor looks in there they see nothing bad or out of the ordinary. How is that even possible ?

 

I want to bump this thread because I'm trying to see what people's less common symptoms may be other than the usual pain, burning, jaw tightness, vertigo, and so on. Here are some of mine:

Sleep disturbances and insomnia: I have been noticing a pattern of intense sleep disturbances whenever I have days I'm hit with noise. It's not so much a "it's too noisy I can't sleep" type of feeling, but rather my body just remains wide awake. I have been getting good sleep lately thanks to supplements, and have been passing out at the same time each day. Yesterday was extremely noisy with motorcycles. My usual bedtime rolled around. Nothing. And no urge to sleep either. Even after my usual supplements and then some, which should have been overkill, my body remained awake. I wonder if it damages how my brain regulates sleep. Days where I have to leave the house this pattern also occurs frequently.

Photosensitivity: If I ever have to go outside, sunny days are especially bad for me. I can use a sunlamp while I'm indoors in my cave but I get very severe migraines from the sun, especially paired with noise. I hear this is common with hyperacusis actually.

Ear snapping and exploding head: My eardrum and nerves surrounding my ears will "jump" and "snap" right as I'm about to nod off, which prevents me from sleeping a lot of the time.

More easily startled: Really curious to see if anyone else experiences this. I am a lot more jumpy, not just from noise, but visual things too. I will jump at my own shadow and will have hallucinations out of the corner of my eye. If anyone would walk up to me and tap me on the shoulder I would jump and overreact and then it would take me a few seconds to get my bearings and calm down. Never had this issue before.

Then the usual stuff:

Vertigo: Self explanatory.

Nerve issues: Nerves (mostly around my left ear) jump or give an electric shock feeling when startled by noise, especially high frequencies. When I have bad setbacks, it feels like noise is "punching me" almost. Like my brain is being pelted by golf-ball sized hail. Like I can feel the sound waves knock me.

Balance issues: Mostly related to the former; sound waves feel like they knock me to my feet.

Distortions primarily with electronic audio: On top of being loud, sound is very low quality, like a VHS tape from the 80s, pitch is lowered.

TTTS/MEM/whatever it is: Eardrum thumping from even the quietest noise, and noise from within my head too.

Crunching while swallowing: Crunching and then ear drum spasms when I swallow. I went to an ENT and they claimed my E-tubes were fine, so I have no idea what this is.

Ears controlling opposite ear: Now I THINK this might be common but not sure. If I flick my right ear, for example, my left ear will be the one spasming. And vice versa.

Sensitivity to vibrations: I can feel vibrations from noise all throughout my body. Like a truck going by will shake me to the core quite literally.

Other notes:

Pain reactions w/ nerves: When I get pain in my ear, by which I mean pain in my ear canal, sometimes middle ear, I will feel a "popping" noise within my ear, like small air bubbles rising in champagne. I will also get the ear drum jumping feeling and it will sometimes throb or spasm. This isn't necessarily from noise either. So say that I have a twinge of pain within my ear, it will make the eardrum throb.

Tinnitus spikes: My tinnitus will momentarily "jump" and get louder when I experience pain or am startled. Just for that split second moment.

Clicking: Some days after bad spikes I will hear hear a clicking in my middle ear when I turn my head. I don't know if this is jaw related or middle ear related, or both.

 

• Do you experience headaches?

Sometimes. As much as the next guy.

• Do things seem louder to you?

Yes they sure do. Evening traffic outside sounds like a drag race in the distance, when people walk around the house it seems like they're stomping, and cutlery is just hell nah. I wear earplugs pretty much from morning to night. Not to protect my ears necessarily, but just because it's so much more comfortable.

• Do you have ear pain?

Yes, fairly often. Especially after walking home next to traffic, or similar fair-sized doses of noise. It feels like a sunburn, like Tom Maholchic described, and lasts for 30 minutes to a few days. Maddeningly, the duration doesn't seem very correlated with the volume/duration of the noise. It's quite random and unpredictable. I also have short-lived dull aches, but thankfully I don't have any instant stabbing pain.

• Do you have jaw and/or facial pain?

I have TMJ which I suspect might be connected to my ear problems, but oddly enough I have no/next-to-no jaw pain.

• Do you get brain shocks from certain noises?

Yup. They're pretty rare and sporadic though.
I also get involuntary rumbles and flutters (TTTS, I presume), which are very annoying. Thankfully it only happens a few times a week, and they subside pretty fast.