Do Older Folks Take Longer to See an Improvement of Their Hyperacusis?

I have noticed that younger people tend to see an improvement of their hyperacusis in a shorter period of time (less than a year). I am 56 and the hyperacusis began fourteen (14) months ago. I have noticed that some success stories have involved people who began to see improvement in two (2) to four (4) years.

I have read some statements that older people take longer to experience an improvement in relation to hyperacusis.

This is likely true for many conditions in life, but I am interested to hear some thoughts on this subject.

 

I am 35 years old. My hyperacusis never improved in the 4½ years I've had it. Only got worse and worse.

 

I was 37 when I developed hyperacusis. It got to a pretty manageable point within 2 years. Really didn’t have any improvement for a year. Same for my tinnitus.

Dealing with a pretty bad setback that seems like a possible long term worsening right now though :/

 

Did I read in one of your earlier posts that your hyperacusis has been fairly mild? You reference it worsening so perhaps it is no longer mild, but I am not certain.

 

I can't remember if I've ever referred to my hyperacusis being mild. I don't think it's ever been mild. In the beginning I would call it maybe moderate. Now it's pretty severe. Lost my ability to talk and socialize.

 

Can you point me to any of the stories saying it took longer than 2 years to improve?

 

Yes, I will have to find them.

 

The post is from July of 2018 and you described it as “mild/moderate.” I was probably just focused on the “mild” reference.

 

Vii posted in December of 2020 with a title of “My Tinnitus Is Almost Gone After 3 Years: It’s Now a Faint Ringing - No Longer Hyperacusis Either.”

SteveH1970 posted in August of 2021 with a title of “Hyperacusis Almost Gone - Tinnitus Not a Big Issue Anymore.”

Deep Universe posted in May of 2018 with a title of “Extreme Hyperacusis Has Improved Over The Past 2.5 years.”

I might be able to find more. I am not certain that it took two (2) to four (4) years for them to see improvement but these are the posts that I recall at this point.

 

@Athens, hyperacusis can improve over a long span of time, even after 2 years.

For many, the recovery road often will be long and non-linear - but the most important is that most people do get better of hyperacusis.

There will always be a few that might never recover at all - like it is with any condition really - but remember that most of the people that do get significantly better leave this forum (or never was a member).

 

Thanks, I’ll look through these.

Well, @Vii says specifically it only took 18 months for her hyperacusis to go away and it sounds like loudness, not pain related.

Do you only have loudness hyperacusis? It seems to be more likely to clear up than noxacusis from reading people’s posts on here. Good news for you, not so much for me lol.

 

Yes, I believe that I have loudness hyperacusis. I generally do not experience pain in the context of hearing any sounds. It is more of an uncomfortable feeling. My ears do feel sore on occasion.

 

How's your hearing loss?

I have a theory that tolerance to sound is maintained centrally in the brain where the "gain" can be turned up for different frequencies. If overwhelmed by too much "uncomfortable sound" the brain can drop the tolerances further (as has happened to me once). If there's hearing loss, the dead frequencies no longer get enriched with sound, and the brain turns up the gain in that region, causing loudness hyperacusis, and I think the same effect can be simulated by longer periods of sound deprivation through 24/7 hearing protection (like I've done). I think, if there's hearing loss involved, as many older folks have, then it may take a longer time (if at all), for the tolerances to become more normal again, while younger people with less hearing loss may more easily have the frequencies enriched with sound, so the tolerances gets restored quicker. I just think that may explain why some benefit greatly from sound therapy, while others do not.

I don't know, it just hit me one night while laying in bed. I may be completely wrong, and I don't know if it's true. I also don't think this theory applies to pain hyperacusis.

All the best,
Stacken

 

I have been tested three (3) times recently and I have minor hearing loss consistent with age (worse on the left side) and 100% word recognition scores. The hyperacusis and tinnitus are worse on my left side.

 

Hi Athens,

Are you still wearing your sound generators daily and using a sound machine by your beside at night? This treatment takes time. Are your sound generators fitted with hearing aids?

 

My sound generators do not have a hearing aid component. A different audiologist recommended expensive hearing aids and admitted that it was a counterintuitive approach given that I already hear noises as too loud. I do not have any trouble understanding or hearing others or the television. My word recognition scores were 100% all three times and my hearing loss was found to be minor. Yes, I have been wearing sound generators for eight (8) hours each day. I do listen to nature sounds at night but the quality is not great given that I listen through my phone. I might buy a quality sound machine.

 

Since your hearing loss is minor I agree with your audiologist that you don't need hearing aids. You are doing the right thing using the white noise generators for 8 hours a day. As long as you are not experiencing any discomfort then carry on. In time your oversensitivity to sound should decrease. As the brain habituates to the white noise it will slowly push the tinnitus further into the background and enable habituation. There are a few things I want to suggest that I think will be of help.

When you put the generators on in the morning keep the white noise slightly below the tinnitus and leave it there. Try not to adjust the volume throughout the day. Some people increase the volume when out the street, as the sound of traffic can make it more difficult to hear the white noise. Please do not do this. Regularly adjusting the volume of the white noise will make it more difficult for the brain to habituate to it and possibly delay or completely stop the habituation process. When it's possible invest in an Oasis Sound Machine, as the sound quality is much superior than your phone.

If you are able to have regular counselling with your audiologist I believe this will be helpful, as explained in my TRT posts on my started threads. Lastly, I suggest you try to keep away from social media sites and not discus tinnitus or your treatment. Instead, try to incorporate positivity into your life as much as possible. Start a new interest or hobby. This will direct your thoughts to other things and help to take away your focus from the tinnitus.

Take care and wishing you all the best,
Michael

 

My biggest issue is insomnia which predates the hyperacusis and tinnitus by several months. I have been somewhat disappointed in the TRT counseling from my audiologist, but I do have a separate therapist who has quite a lot of experience with tinnitus and hyperacusis.

 

Ideally, the audiologist giving counselling should have tinnitus and preferably have experience of it being severe. That way, they will understand how this condition can affect a person's daily life and their mental and emotional wellbeing. Through talk therapy, they can help a person to start incorporating positivity into your life. Starting a new interest or hobby is an example. This will help remove and dispel the negative thinking that is often attached to tinnitus and hyperacusis. The patient has to help themselves as counselling cannot do it all.

By taking things at one's own pace and not pushing themselves too hard or expecting quick results, the benefits will eventually be realized. Sleep is important so have a word with your doctor and hopefully a solution to your insomnia can be found.

Michael

 

Hello @Athens, I am also 56 years old and I am improving slowly.

Stay positive.

 

The answer is very likely.

Also, I suspect tinnitus is worse/louder for older people too because the ear has been exposed to more acoustic trauma or for a longer period of time but there's many intangibles, genetics, experiences and other things that impact it.

 

Sorry to hear that, I also cannot stand my own voice. Do you also have pain? Mine is almost constant for months, even in silence, I don't remember when I had the last painless day.

 

Thank yo. I know that this process can be very slow, but I am getting frustrated by the lack of any improvement after fourteen (14) months. I have only been in continuous treatment since the end of July of this year. I am not confident in the efficacy of listening to the above the ear sound generators. I think that the passage of time may be more important.

 

I like to read people "improving"! Tinnitus improvement is a marathon, not a sprint. Please realise there are people in the same situation and am pulling for you.

 

Yes. it is important to read stories that are positive and are encouraging. really helps give others hope of improvement.

 

How did yours get worse?

 

Yes, I have pain, but not 24/7 though. But I almost always have really uncomfortable pressure feeling in my ears. I'm sorry you have it so bad.

 

Don't know, but I suspect medicine (Mirtazapine) may have had ototoxic effect on me and made it worse. Other than that... I don't know. I think it's possible that for some people the damage is so severe that it triggers a progressive worsening, but that's just my own theory.

 

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully something gives...

Tinnitus in itself is BS, that and being no fix for it.

 

TRT cannot fix hyperacusis or make it improve. There's nothing scientific to TRT: the concept is as simple as having sound around you and turning up the volume week after week...

The problem is sounds from the real world, peak sounds, very loud unexpected sounds that are commonplace, will give you trouble and maybe produce setbacks. There's no therapy for patients to get used to these sounds again.