Family Member with Tinnitus & Painful Hyperacusis Tried to End Their Life

Hi -
A family member has tinnitus along with painful hyperacusis and is currently in the hospital after trying to end their life.

Our family is distraught and extremely concerned and any help or support would be appreciated. Thoughts of despair are still present, and not sure where our family member should be transferred to after they are released from the hospital.

We live in NJ. Thank you.

 

Dear Madish:

It is with great sadness that I just read your post about your family member who tried to end their life. I have had hyperacusis for 23 years , and once in a while one hears similar stories. And black thoughts are something unfortunately that will be in the back of our minds when we are suffering excessively from hyperacusis or tinnitus.

Of course you have my unconditional support and sympathy, both to you and the family member in question. Perhaps someone else in New Jersey with hyperacusis could visit this person, if their condition is not too severe. I live in Montreal, so any visit is out of the question unfortunately.

I do not know enough about tinnitus, but I do know that even bad cases of hyperacusis can be improved. Find out about TRT treatment from someone here.

Hang in there. We are rooting for you and the afflicted family member.

Marco

 

@Madish I am somewhat in the vicinity of south Jersey but have no experience with this kind of thing. Your family member needs hope and support. Can your family come up with a treatment plan knowing that sacrifices might need to be made? How long have they been afflicted?

 

Please type hyperacusis into search bar and you will come up with active threads of other people with hyperacusis, it will take time to kneel and also includes having dark thoughts. It catches you off guard and it happens with tinnitus and hyperacusis, but you can get past it. Tinnitus or hyperacusis is no picnic. Their are good threads to catch up on.

 

For many people, hyperacusis eventually gets better; for some, it takes a few months, for others, it can take years. How long has that person had tinnitus and hyperacusis? Is it relatively new?

Unfortunately, there is no universal cure for either condition. It could be that the hyperacusis slowly but surely gets better and that their tinnitus improves as well. It could also be the case that the hyperacusis improves but the tinnitus stays the same. Tinnitus and hyperacusis are part of a big spectrum, individual cases can differ a lot from each other.

"I view recovery from hyperacusis much like recovery from a concussion. The pace and degree of recovery vary from person to person. Recovery may happen over weeks or months. It may improve with “auditory rest” or may require specific intervention. Hyperacusis may resolve completely or there may be lingering sensitivities that require modifications to lifestyle or work." - source

Many people can still lead good lives despite having tinnitus. However, these conditions, especially when in combination, can be debilitating. But this doesn’t have to mean that your family member’s situation won’t improve!

What I would personally recommend:

• build a good support system for this person
• find hyperacusis (recovery) stories to learn what you're dealing with
• encourage your family member to gradually increase exposure to sound in safe and predictable environments
• have some natural sounds on during the day and at night if possible
• seek out help from a therapist, ideally specialized in tinnitus and or hyperacusis
• The Hyperacusis Network

 

Adding this: https://hyperacusisresearch.org
Hyperacusis research needs your help!

 

Madish,

First of all I'm sorry he/she is going through this.... As well your family suffering.

At the moment, what's the status of your family member?

How long he has suffering of tinnitus and hyperacusis?

Has he/she been under antidepressants medications?

 

Madish : How is it going there? Many of us are worried. Maybe you can give us some news.

Marco

 

Hi all -
Thank you for your concern .
My family member is doing okay ... stable.
I am sorry for the delayed response.
ECT therapy is being tried tomorrow (to control the depression and suicudal thoughts).
Has anyone tried this?

 

Madish:

Thanks for the news.

Although I am not a therapist,in my lowly humble opinion, I am not a fan of ECT Therapy, having been convinced by an author and therapist that I respect that it does more harm than good. The author is Arthur Janov and the therapeutic clinic he ran (he died last year) is in Los Angeles under the name Janov Primal Centre. When he and others talk about ECT they assume the person has an emotional problem, but the suicidal person in question is sufferring from an extreme PHYSICAL problem, which naturally engenders a grave emotional response. If the physical problem is not at least partly resolved, the emotional distress it brings up will always naturally come back. So what good is ECT or any other psychotherapy in this circumstance?

I do not mean to be negative, but we have to look at the reality.

Finally, for whatever it is worth, we are behind you 100%. I will be checking back regularly for any news. Good luck!

Marco