Ear Pain Triggered by Sound, Need Help!

Thank you for the information! maybe this is why I am dizzy all the time, doc. cannot find out what is wrong with me, did all sort of test ..nothing can tell why the dizziness ..thanks Take care!

 

This is most interesting information indeed. It seems that i can't tolerate longer periods i.e. 30 min of music listening, even at the normal volumes. But everyday sounds are ok, by now and very short louder sounds don't hurt. I guess i really have to find a good audiogist and get myself diagnosed.

 

Sometimes if i open my eustachian tubes and breath in through my nose or sometimes if i become active from a seated position, i get a resonating hum within my ears. Could this be related to TTTS? it's strange and i'd love to know what it is. If i cover my ears it goes away. It's most prevalent in my ear affected by T.

 

I get symptoms too but what concerns me is that its not very similar to whats mentioned here,after my noise exposure(high frequency burst)at the start of this year I had noticed a few odd very noticeable symptoms and would appreciate any opinions as what this might be,first off all my hearing was tested and supposedly I have no hearing loss my audiologist says my hearing is perfect audiograms and OAEs show no hearing loss and perfect haircell function,my weird symptoms is as follows,after the noise exposure I started having this weird popping sensation in the back of my head bottom of the skull around the neck and at the top of my skull and it was quiet loud and noticeable like liquid or a bubble popping,soon after this I was standing up looking directly up at the ceiling I started to hear a womp womp womp like blood or something dripping at the back of my skull,I plugged my ears to see if it was the middle ear muscle moving but even after plugging the ear it continued going wump wump wump.Immediately after this I became extremely dizzy and disorientated and was rushed to the doctor but was offered no help,the dizziness lasted about two weeks.After I bend over to pick something up the pressure in the back of my head subsides quite a bit and when I stand up again the pressure returns with a pulsing throb at the back of my head that I can hear in my head or ears like a loud heartbeat that lasts a couple of seconds and then subsides.I constantly have very tight pressure at the back of my head and sharp pains with a hotness and tenderness in the area.When a sudden unexpected noise happens the back of my head thumps and tingles and I feel like getting sick sometimes,im convinced the thump isnt ear related as it happens at the back of my head and nowhere near the ear and im nearly certain it isnt tension as Ive had regular massages done to relieve tension and have been told that there isnt much tension there.Also last but not least I get sometimes like this sensation of water being dripped onto my head usually around the back of my head where the pressure is and sometimes when I wake up in the morning the back of my head is completely numb!¡My ENT isnt taking me seriously and doesnt listen to half the stuff I say so any ideas guys,should I look into this a bit further??Also I just wanted to say sometimes if im around nois the back of my head wil pulsate and make a womf womf noise like blood or fluid moving??Any responses will be greatly apreciated as I respect your opinions more than anyone elses.Thanks.

 

It may be worth investigating your C1 atlas.. It could be off a bit. I believe mine is out slightly as my transverse process is more noticeable on my right side of neck than left.

 

Dear friends, I'd like to know what form of treatment is best used for TTTS. Clonazepam 2mg does not work anymore. Antidepressants and white noise masks seem even worse. I used them for months. I have not seen any improvement. Tinnitus worsened after the use of hearing aids on july 2013 for hearing loss and replaced with tinnitus maskers (I was told that they would have done well and are worsened instead of 300%). I was on retigabine but have important side effects. Help me please. Thank you

 

Hi, I recently joined tinnitus talk but have had T for almost 4 years all together. It started to become permanent in 2011 and recently I believe I have Hyperacusis as well. In the last 7 to 8 months I have become very sensitive to loud music, tv volume and Any type of Loud sound makes me very uncomfortable. I am dealing with it really well these last few days but, went through some dark times over and over for many years. My T started ringing even louder just about 2 weeks ago and the pressure and pain began to build. I would say that 2 weeks ago it probably doubled and the ringing got louder all in a short time. It is very tempermental and I have good days and bad days. I always do my best to keep a positive attitude no matter what and this has helped by reducing my stress. I also use meditation and mind over matter to ignore the pain which I have become very good at. I have been through a lot in my life and have struggled with one thing after another since I was 12. This has taught me patience and given me the ability to ignore pain which causes me to constantly push the limits of what my body can tolerate. It has really caught up to me these last 2 years and especially these last 8 months. The last 2 to 3 months being the very worst. I believe I have H and have read to educate myself and would like any info or treatment advice based on my symptoms. I will list all of them below because they are constantly flip flopping, getting worse then better, then worse again. Thank you ahead of time and no matter what I will live with this and In time probably get a more permanent fix. There is always Hope, you just have to find it.
SYMPTOMS : fullness and pain in ear both ears, right ear feels more sensitive than left ear/ sometimes flip flops, changes in pressure,constant ringing and popping at different intervals based on sound waves and volume, increased sensitivity to talking/sudden loud noises, planes/cars/trains etc.. T.v. volume must constantly be adjusted, severity of symptoms can vary day to day. Currently very sensitive to all sounds and wear earplugs when I leave the house as needed. Symptoms have become increasingly severe with time and any relief never lasts.

 

@Viking I could not find anything for you. Maybe you should ask Dr. Nagler in the Doctor's Corner. He's an MD.

You can get to his area by clicking the link below.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/forums/dr-stephen-nagler.72/​

 

I don't know if this is of any use since Acamprosate (Campral), which is a medicine for alcoholics, has been shown to not have any effect on T. But anyway, wikipedia states this:

"Acamprosate has been successfully used to control tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear pain and inner ear pressure during alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal due to spasms of the tensor tympani muscle."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acamprosate

There is also a thread about the drug on this site.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acamprosate-campral.394/

I don't know what to make of it though. I can't understand why wikipedia would claim it has been successfully used since everything else points to the opposite.
@jazz sorry for always bothering you, but do you have anything to say about this?

 

I went to the Wikipedia article you cite above, and I could not find the reference to the study about using acamprosate to treat tinnitus from spasms of the tensor tympani muscle. Unfortunately, the Wikipedia footnote, #8, only hyperlinked to an article about the tensor tympani muscle. So I did a PubMed search on acamprosate and tinnitus. In particular, there is one trial for tinnitus treatment with acamprosate that did produce excellent results. However, other researchers have cast doubt regarding the study. That said, why not try it? Nothing to loose, short term.

Below I'll put the link to clinical study on acamprosate for tinnitus. Here is an excerpt regarding dosage, etc.:

Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups of 25 patients: one group received acamprosate 333mg, TID [three times a day], and the other received placebo, TID, both groups for 90 days. All details of the study were clarified to the patients by the assistant physician and they all signed the informed consent term. It was a double-blind study approved by the Medical Ethical Committee, Hospital São Camilo.

Patients were analyzed at days 30, 60 and 90 after use of the drug and at each visit, the patient scored the tinnitus status, as well as reported side effects.

...

In the group treated with acamprosate we did not observe worsening in score. Three patients (13.04%) did not report improvement, 9 (39.13%) reported improvement below 50% and 11 patients (47.83%) reported improvement higher than 50%. Three subjects (13.04%) reported that tinnitus had disappeared.

​

These are good results, but they have not been replicated--to my knowledge. And the ATA and other researchers do not believe the drug is effective for tinnitus.

Hope this helps!


Reference:

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?scr...0034-72992005000500012&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en​

 

I did find a reference on another forum; you should look at it.

Here is the reference:

http://www.chat-hyperacusis.net/post/tensor-tympani-relaxation-techniques-4083481​

From what I could gather, surgery seems the only known cure. But see the excerpt below, from an ENT's site, on TTS. The doctor notes you could also try to treat with anti-epileptics and muscle relaxants. Specifically, the doctor mentioned Flexril.

Tensor Tympani or Stapedius Muscle Spasms

One can try to treat this condition with Magnesium Oxide 400mg per day and if that fails, consider even trying muscle relaxants and anticonvulsants (ie, flexeril, neurontin). However, ultimately the only way this problem can be definitively treated is surgical... the muscle gets cut. Botox can NOT be utilized as one needs to be able to "see" or "feel" the muscle in order to inject botox. This surgery is performed by a neuro-otologic surgeon.
​

There is information on this drug on Tinnitus Talk. Here is the link to it:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/cyclobenzaprine-flexeril.525/

​

Reference:

http://www.fauquierent.net/earclicking.htm​

 

Once again @jazz you go that extra mile when I ask for your input. Thanks, I owe you big time

Yes, I think the results are too good to be true, and this was so many years ago that I very much doubt that it could be effective for T. I mean, wouldnt they have done more studies if it were? But if they could work for TTTS it's maybe worth a try.

I wouldnt think to highly of the surgery though. There seems to be a 50/50 chance with that one as some people on that forum has reported a worsening in their H after the surgery and some people still have the spasms afterwards while others seems to have had great success from the surgery. And how to know if it is the tensor tympani or the stapedius that's causing the problems?

 

I happen to be on anti convulsants for limited seizure activity and another medical condition. These are not worth the risks. Sorry but you don't know what your talking about. Depekote which I am on causes tinnitus as a side effect. Muscle relaxants can help with pain but guess what? They can make T worse to. Do your homework next time before you get someone hurt with your advice. I don't mean to be rude but trust me this is not a road you wanna start down. I hope you understand. Dealt with this kind of stuff my whole life. Trust me I know what I'm talking about. All medication has negative side effects and are last resort only.

 

Anyone has treated this condition with SSRI and small dosage of Benzodiazepine?
My neurologist advice me a low dose of 6mg Paroxetine and only 2mg of lorazepam x day.
Thank you

 

Erlend how are you doing with this? Did anything work to do it away? Laser? TRT? etc? I understand you had an acoustic trauma from music, right? me too.

I have thumps which include pain and they jump on pretty much most initiation of sound. I use leveling sounds to drown them out and do things like sleep or concentrate. So I have something similar to you, only my pain doesn't go down my spine, it just stays in the ear or close to it.

I'm not sure what you mean by the difference between pain and discomfort though. But, say, i'm on a bus and two people are talking next to me, it'll be a lot worse ride than if no one is talking, because conversation sounds spike a lot more than the sound of a bus motor. It's not acute pain I guess if it hit me once, but it hits me all the time with so much sound that overall it's way worse than getting hit one time by strong pain. Maybe you mean you have dull pain, instead of sharp pain, both of which anyways are claimed to be symptoms of either TTTS-like or cochlear nerve damage.

Give me a shout or post on my wall and let's mutually improve our knowledge of our very rare form of hyperacusis.

 

Chat Hyperacusis are good on some things, but I think they see hyperacusis in one dimension only. Anything that doesn't quite fit gets called "not hyperacusis" leaving you none the wiser.

 

I felt it was just a huge circlejerk contest on who suffers the most.

 

Stapedial myoclonus has been treated in China using a type of compress to apply Botox directly to the muscle which then absorbs it. It was passed via an already ruptured eardrum. It apparently worked, which would make it an excellent diagnostic tool. The Stap is to small to inject. I wouldn't however get too excited until I saw the procedure replicated in a Western setting with the same claimed results.

 

Its useful if you wade through its history, but I learn at a snail pace. They used to have a poster called Astrid who had her muscles cut in her ear and winded up with even worse acoustic reflex or ''H'' or TTTS than when she started.

http://www.chat-hyperacusis.net/post/show_single_post?pid=26727012&postcount=14

Posts like that are gold, and part of the reason why we're at the clueless junction we are today.

 

Astrid could have had an issue with the quality of the surgery too, which they probably would keep from her. Many unknowns. I have seen that cutting the muscle isn't enough. You have to cut the tendon that attaches the muscle, otherwise the muscles can potentially rejoin.

 

Astrid could have had an issue with the quality of the surgery too, which they probably would keep from her. Many unknowns. I have seen that cutting the muscle isn't enough. You have to cut the tendon that attaches the muscle, otherwise the muscles can potentially rejoin.

 

Thats more or less what lib told me through email. She was one of the others who did cuts the previous decade on the forums. I contacted her today after I read her say she had a strange kind of hyperacusis, I will update what with what she says. Until I read that I was practically giving into the idea that it was only working for those initially without hyperacusis. I will also try to get in contact with the writers of those papers on pubmed etc, Chicago, etc.