Do Any of You Live by Yourself with Hyperacusis?

Hi all,

So I have developed ear and face pain recently and even though my case isn't severe (I can do 80% of normal daily activity with ear plugs in), I live with someone now (my reselling partner) whose long term plans are likely to take him back to the state he's from. That could happen as soon as a few months from now. At that point, I would be living by myself again.

How do you guys do things for instance like vacuuming? For laundry, I just start a load and run out of the room but you can't really do that with everything that needs to be done. Lawn mowing. Vacuuming. Etc.

I'm hoping I will be better in a few months and maybe my case not being severe might lend itself to that. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Peltor Earmuffs. X1A for small stuff, X5A for louder things.

 

I don't live alone but generally earbuds + earmuffs and timing tasks e.g. I know it takes 4 1/2 minutes for my bath to fill. Re: vacuuming, maybe a Roomba that can operate while you are in a separate room? I also have Bluetooth connectivity on my blender and HEPA filter so I can leave the room before running both. I would add as many smart, remote controlled devices as possible - this could extend to smart plugs, whereby you leave the device switched on but the plug selectively allows power draw from the wall as you see fit, also via an app. This allows you to use a broader variety of devices without the smart functionality having to be built into the device itself.

 

I live alone. I think it's both a blessing and a curse to live alone with this condition. I vacuum, do the dishes and other loud-ish chores with ear muffs on. I don't have a garden, so no gardening/mowing lawn.

 

Sorry to hear this, adapting to this hell can take a long time and is quite taxing on the soul to say the least.

Thankfully I live in a non-carpeted house, so sweeping is the usual solution along with polishing when it comes to floors.

For most daily tasks I just throw on my ear defenders, which I have around my neck most of the time until I know I'm about to do something even slightly noisy. I'm going to get ear muffs soon though because ear defenders are just too uncomfortable.

As for the lawn and so on... I'd advise you to get a gardener in as and when needed. Some industrial tools are just too loud and not worth the risk with this condition, even with ear protection.

 

Whilst you are treating the symptoms of hyperacusis with Earmuffs and getting the relief you seek, you are actually making the condition worse the more dependent you become on them, due to lowering the loudness threshold of your auditory system, which will make it more sensitive to sound. The longer this practice continues, there's a risk of other problems developing: Misophonia and Phonophobia, that I have written about in my thread, The Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis, available on my started threads.

Hyperacusis needs to be treated as the overuse of hearing protection is not a solution. A person will always have problems with tinnitus spiking because hyperacusis is present. A person can try self help and there are ways to do this that are mentioned in my thread: Hyperacusis, As I See It, or see an Audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

Michael

 

Just curious, but you ever had physical pain in response to sound? Not "it sounds so loud and makes me winch and my heart rate goes up" but actual pain, like a stabbing pain, soreness or a sunburn feeling?

 

That's a good idea, though a bit cost prohibitive to do all at once. Absolutely no way I could run a normal blender right now.

 

The plugs are actually cheap - you can get 4 for around 25 and control them from an app on your phone:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Kasa...mart+plugs&qid=1614806396&s=industrial&sr=1-4

Switch your blender to on while the plug is off, go to another room, and switch the plug on. Safe smoothies

 

I'm a big fan of Peltor X4A for around the house/yard stuff that's loud and may flair up the pain you describe (I get it too). IE: Vacuum, blender, anything with power tools, mowing.

I also keep a set of Mack's Covert Ops Earplugs handy. They're foam and basically one-time use, but they are discreet and pretty comfortable.

 

It works well enough to prevent the pain? That's amazing if so.

I was considering wearing ear plugs more (even when I'm lying in bed) but they actually irritate my ear canal after awhile and that seems to refer more pain.

I'm also wondering if having a fan on to mask my tinnitus is making it worse, though the fan is not especially loud...

 

Yeah they're rated for power tool use with a 27 dB NRR. If you look at the data sheet, the lab tests show greater dB attenuation at frequencies generally above 4 kHz. This is where in my opinion, over-the-ear actually does better than earplugs. The earmuff shell + foam padding really do a good job at blocking all the HF noise.

In my opinion, it's the high frequency sounds that really get the pain irritation fired up.

 

Here's a little something I put together to compare the actual performance of the hearing protection that I have trialed over time. For hyperacusis + pain, the high frequency performance really matters.

 

Thank you so much. Just ordered some off of your and @Croaker's recommendation.

 

When I first developed tinnitus in 1996 I also had hyperacusis. Both conditions were extremely severe is the best way to describe it. My ears were in excruciating pain most of the time caused by the any kind of sound. When in conversation with someone, I asked could they please lower their voice. The whole of my head, ears and auditory system felt completely numb, this was caused by noise trauma from headphones. It frightened me so much, I wouldn't tell members of my family, although they knew about the tinnitus. I could hear but it felt my head was submerged deep under water. It was truly a frightening experience and thought I could never hear normal again.

This was 25 years ago and had no computer or Internet but found a library, bought books and began researching tinnitus and learned about hyperacusis. I happened to meet a herbalist and thank goodness she knew about tinnitus and hyperacusis. After I explained it was caused by headphones, she advised I start taking Magnesium and Ginkgo biloba in tincture form. This was 6 months before my first ENT appointment. Although I could hear I knew my hearing was off and wasn't what it should be.

The herbalist said the auditory system consists of many nerves and they had become highly traumatised and oversensitive due to headphone use. She said the Magnesium would repair the damage and was confident. She knew all about the numbness I was experiencing and said this would go but it will take many months. When I was seen at ENT I still had the severe tinnitus and hyperacusis but my head and ears no longer felt numb. My ENT doctor said my hearing was very good and asked if I was taking anything. I mentioned taking Magnesium and Ginkgo biloba on the advice of a herbalist and mentioned he advises all this tinnitus patients to take these supplements.

Contrary to what some people believe, hyperacusis can be treated and often it can be cured as in my case or the symptoms significantly reduced. I have corresponded with Audiologists. All of them have tinnitus and some work with tinnitus patients. I met one that said all of her patients fully recover from hyperacusis, meaning it is no longer a problem once they follow her treatment. According to her the only people that don't do well, are those that don't stay with the program. She recommends only one white noise generator is to be worn but it's important to have regular counselling.

The longer hyperacusis persists and if a person resorts to overusing hearing protection and keeping away from normal everyday sounds, all this can make the condition become chronic and other problems can manifest themselves that I have written about in my articles mentioned in my previous posts.

Michael

 

I have been wearing heavy duty earplugs with earmuffs on top to vacuum. It seems to be enough in my case but in the scheme of things, I would call my case of hyperacusis moderate. I also really only have hyperacusis in my right ear (tinnitus is in both).

 

@FGG, I have a pair of musicians' earplugs to hand at most times (from EarPeace, they are fairly discreet) but I have a pair of earmuffs that I use for household chores like vacuuming, using a blender etc. I just ordered a cheap generic pair from Amazon and they do the job.

Not sure what to recommend with regards to lawn mowing etc - I feel like that could maybe even require double protection.

Sorry to hear you are experiencing pain. I hope it resolves for you soon.

 

Can you describe this pain in detail and its distribution? Ice pick? Electric? Stabbing? burning? Sore? Needle? Etc. And where it extended to. Also if it was unilateral or bilateral. Thanks.

I can't seem to reconcile:

With:

My noxacusis is probably mild and I can't imagine keeping it hidden. Especially if you didn't wear hearing protection (though granted you would have to make a weird excuse if you were trying to protect and keep your hyperacusis a secret).

Is it possible you are associating loudness discomfort with pain?

Magnesium does help somewhat, especially in liquid form.

That's the thing though with intracochlear noxacusis (I think mine is more middle ear reflex related), the nerves are traumatized and oversensitive to ATP specifically but noise exposure actually makes them more over sensitive. I could see overprotection possibly making an increased Stapedial reflex or TTTS worse though. That's why even moderate noise exposure can make some people much, much worse.

I obviously never practiced human medicine but I was a veterinarian and I can't imagine telling a client that any one treatment always had a "100% cure rate for full recovery ". There are way too many cofactors and comorbidities that could have been missed for starters.

 

I had a similar issue so I switched to Mack's Ultra Soft earplugs. Obviously, there's no getting around the fact that this can become an issue, but I like these very much for sleeping.

Also, the Peltor X5A work great. I don't have experience with noxacusis, but I know a lot of veterans rave about Peltors (what a world we live in).

 

No, I will not explain further for I have done enough. Try and see an Audiologist and get some help.

Goodbye and I wish you well.
Michael

 

I live with my family. My guys are loud so I wait until they go to bed and I start a load of laundry and set the dishwasher on delay every night before I go to bed. Both will run while I am asleep. Think old school with everything, there are push vacuums that do not require electricity or noise. There are also push mowers to mow the lawn without power. If you wanted to go high tech a Roomba is fairly quiet and can vacuum while you are asleep or at work.

 

Have you ever had a blender mishap? I worry about the Ninja not being secure.

 

So ER-15 is the best?

Thank you,
twa

 

I haven't been able to go to work since before getting pain (over 2 years) because vet clinics are extremely loud and I also can't hear parts of the heart well anymore or hear well enough to communicate well when dogs are barking, etc. I work from home reselling now just to try to survive so I'm always here but I have been going to my attic when I want to do laundry (it's a finished attic, I'm not sitting in the dark and dust).

I will probably look into a Roomba. Maybe I can find a second hand one.

 

Thanks. Good talk.

 

I'm so sorry for your new pain, as if this condition wasn't bad enough already. Was there an identifiable trigger to your recent ear and face pain? Have you considered Psilocybin as it's been mentioned on this forum and by mushroom expert Paul Stamets as neuroregenerative, treating tinnitus, hyperacusis and hearing loss?

 

Yes. I put a phone speaker turned up loud right *next* to my left ear briefly trying to hear something better (I have hearing issues in both but I just tried my left when it happened) and my ear felt tingly and "off" and sore and it progressed from there. I'd definitely middle ear/muscle reflex/TTTS related as my ear drums were fluttering and it's both sides even though it would be the equivalent of only having an ear bud in my left ear.

I appreciate the suggestion but there is no way I would take Psilocybin with my visual snow.

Last night, it got really bad around 10pm and it even hurt to drink water. I had a huge pressure feeling to accompany the pain in my middle ear, so I took a huge dose of Prednisone (100mg) to try to sleep and I woke up feeling so much better. 9/10 to 4/10. I'm going to drop down to 60mg today and do a slow taper.

 

I'm sorry that you are dealing with these new symptoms.

I use a Peltor X5A for chores like vacuuming, feeding my dog (she gets way too loud when she is hungry), turmix, blow drying my hair, etc. I have an Optime II as well, and I like it more, because it's much more comfortable, but the X5A is better.

I don't know how big your garden is and how smooth the lie of the land is, but last summer I bought a very basic push reel lawn mower. It's much quieter than the gas powered ones, but the sound of the blades are not nice, so I have earmuffs on as well. If your garden is smooth, not very steep and lumpy, I think it does a decent job.

 

The chart shows the level of reduction for each type I have tested. So, you have to look at in reverse, where lower is better (if you want more protection from sound). So, The Eymotic ER-15 Filters provides the least attenuation of noise in general, the most are the Mack's Shooters, Mack's Ultra Soft, Moldex Pura-Fit 6800s.

 

You have always been respectful and therefore, I will try to be more specific and hope my comments will be of some help.

I hope never to experience the unrelenting piercing pain of hyperacusis again which you have described accurately. It felt just like an ice-pick. Electric, stabbing, ruthlessly unforgiving, bilateral and at times in face. As mentioned, I had to ask people to please lower their voice during conversation because of the severe pain in my ears. I am from an era where the television sets used a cathode-ray-tube. They emitted a ultra high frequency noise above 18 kHz, from the internal scan coils attached to the neck of tube. Most people couldn't hear it or were not troubled by it. Unfortunately I could hear this high pitched signal from a distance of 20ft and it would spike my tinnitus, due to the noise trauma I suffered and impending hyperacusis acute oversensitivity to sound. Going into any store that has a closed circuit TV monitor was a problem, as they used cathode ray-tube technology. I found a way around this.

I quickly learned the benefit of using foam earplugs as they blocked out the high pitched signal from the TV, so I could watch it without my tinnitus spiking but only up to a point. If I watched it longer than an hour or two my tinnitus would spike. I later learned what I often write about in this forum: even though a person wears earplugs sounds can pass through the head and be transferred to the inner ear by bone conduction and spike the tinnitus if they are loud enough.

Twenty five years ago all I read about was tinnitus and hyperacusis and hadn't heard of noxacusis. I prefer to dispel with such terminology as I believe it can make a person believe their hyperacusis is much worse than it probably is. Tinnitus and hyperacusis both impact on a person's mental and emotional wellbeing profoundly. Therefore, I try not to add undue stress. If noxacusis exists then I'm sure I once had it. Thankfully, I'm completely cured of hyperacusis and all oversensitivity to sound. However, I won't rock the boat or tempt fate. When using my powerful steam cleaner, I use noise reducing earplugs as a precaution.

I assure you that what I experienced when I had hyperacusis was severe pain. When I began TRT and wearing white noise generators, over many months this pain gradually reduced to become loudness discomfort until this went completely away after two years.

I found Magnesium very helpful and took it for 4 years. I can't thank that herbalist enough for her help and advice.

I was tested at ENT and wasn't told I had problems such as: Stapedial reflex or TTTS. For this reason I have suggested that you try and seek professional help. I advise on tinnitus and hyperacusis. I have corresponded with people that diagnose themselves and are convinced, they have: hyperacusis, noxacusis, TTTS, phonophobia, misophonia and anything else they see fit to throw into the mix. I think it can be psychologically damaging to self diagnose in this way, as one can easily believe no form of treatment will be helpful.

Perhaps there is some truth in what you say. Whether the Audiologist in question tells her patients they will be 100% cured following her treatment plan I don't know but it's what she told me. She has been in practice many years. I have read posts where people are convinced their tinnitus and hyperacusis are so severe they are beyond help and this can be very damaging because tinnitus is intrinsically linked to our mental and emotional wellbeing. It is for this reason I encourage people to focus on the positive things in their life. This does not mean always to be positive, for life is problematic. One must try to keep a balance but it can be all too easy to allow negativity to become all consuming and that just isn't good.

Michael