Has Anyone with Hearing Loss Had Their Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Fade or Experience Lowering Volume?

Hello everyone

I am rephrasing my original question. I've read a lot of posts trying to learn as much as I can about tinnitus and hyperacusis.

In many of the posts, I have read that tinnitus and hyperacusis has either gone away, faded, or lowered in volume. I do have hearing loss. The audiologist has recommended Widex Moment hearing aids with Zen.

The hearing aids will have to come off for recharging at least 4 to 6 hours every day and, from what I've read, they may or may help. (I've read that for a number of people the hyperacusis was the reason they stopped using them).

Even if they do help while on, wondering if someone with hearing loss can still expect improvement in tinnitus & hyperacusis?

So my question is: Has anyone on this site with hearing loss had improvement in their tinnitus, or tinnitus & hyperacusis after a while?
Is it even possible?

 

Yes it is possible. Everyone has some hearing loss.

 

@LindaS, I am wondering the same thing. I have mild in speech ranges and moderate in all high frequencies. If tinnitus usually means hearing loss, would more hearing loss mean more tinnitus? And why is it that some folks who have hearing loss don't have tinnitus? I feel like those people are so lucky.

I've been looking around for success stories of people who have more hearing loss (not just high frequencies) who have been able to still get lower volumes on their tinnitus over time...or at least what they did to habituate. Please let me know if you find some

 

Yes it gets less intrusive and less incapacitating over time. I have quite severe hereditary hearing loss and it's been compounded by acoustic trauma and antibiotics; five members of my family all have hearing loss and T. One is completely deaf with severe T that they do not hear and haven't in 15 years until someone on the rare occasion signs to ask them about it.

My T was the aberration. All my family have successfully habituated and don't hear it. I was the same until I had an adverse reaction to antibiotics and experienced auditory hallucinations; I had music, reactive T, about four or five tones playing simultaneously, and I had an opera singer warbling at one point! My hearing aids were the only thing that prevented me from suicide in the last Nine months.

Nine months later and anti anxiety medication, I forced myself to resume a normal life. Habitation comes in increments and resilience is built over time but I rarely hear my T now.

When I listen, it's a blaring cacophony. I have three tones at the moment it I listen and church bells but after I turn off my computer and immerse myself into watching Netflix, I won't hear it.

My brain adapted and while a minority cannot, I always take the optimistic approach and say most people will.

 

HI @LindaS

I understand your concerns but as I previously mentioned, you are very new to tinnitus and hyperacusis. It will take time perhaps many months for you to recover and this is the same for a lot of people. Please do not overly worry about your hearing loss preventing you from habituating or not improving the hyperacusis and tinnitus. It takes time and just take each day as it comes and try to focus on other things that you enjoy doing. This will help to reinforce positive thinking. Wear your hearing aids as your Audiologist has advised.

All the best
Michael

 

@Sybelle

Great to hear that you are doing much better! Did your reactive tinnitus ever improve at all? Was it reactive from the beginning?

 

Hi Linda,

My journey with hearing issues started many years ago, with severe hyperacusis, no tinnitus and no hearing loss. In hindsight, I think I maybe had some hidden hearing loss due to the noise trauma that triggered the hyperacusis.

Well, over these years, hearing loss has progressed slowly and tinnitus appeared, while hyperacusis decreased or maybe turned into recruitment. This means that now I am rarely bothered by someone talking loud or by a door closing (not slamming). Before, when hyperacusis was severe, every sound put me on the brink, stuff like pulling a chair, doing dishes, the beeps of the microwave oven, I couldnt stand the voices of some people who talked a bit loud, etc etc For some time I needed earplugs for everything, and I could hear a normal conversation wearing both earplugs and earmuffs.

My hyperacusis was so extreme I couldn't watch TV turned on with minimum volume, and couldnt talk on my cellphone set on speaker, at minimum volume, holding it far from me. Actually I spent years without putting the mobile phone close to my ears.

I started to lose hearing due to one off noises. They would give me pressure, pain in temples, massive headaches, and over time I started noticing that it was harder to understand TV, speech in noise etc

For instance a few days ago I went for a walk on the beach with a friend. There was no noise around, just the wing (moderate wind, not too strong, but noticeable). Well, if my friend talked not so loud I wouldn't hear him, and he didnt seem to hear me that well either, so I guess we were talking kind of loud, for like 2 hours, while we walked. When I got back home my ears were full with pressure and sounds seemed dimmed, dull, deaf-like, without any enrichment, totally flat. Episodes like these worry me a lot..

So coming back to your original question: yes, it is possible to feel better from hyperacusis or tinnitus due to hearing loss, but at the end of the day it is a trade-off. One problem gets better and another (hearing loss) gets worse. The pain changes too, because hyperacusis means intense physical pain and hearing loss is more like isolation, lack of energy to go to places or be with people etc... I know gathering with other people will mean making a lot of effort and the headaches that will ensue of course, so it's hard to decide whether to hang out or not.

I hope this gets better for you and that you find a way to accommodate to this new situation.

 

Hi, how do you cope with everyday activities, work, etc? How did you adapt to your hearing loss?

My severe hyperacusis turned into tinnitus and some hearing loss, and I am having a hard time adapting, that's why I asked. I think there arent that many people on these forums that got hearing loss after developing hyperacusis and as a result from it, so I am curious about your experience...

 

@Sybelle Wow, thank you for your story. Gives me hope! Church bells can't have been easy to habituate to. I have two frequencies that go from 2 to 8 loudness depending on the day. It's going to be a long road.

@Juan, this just started for me (about 2 weeks ago), so yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. I have hearing aids and like @LindaS, looking into sound therapy; the Zen thing sounds appealing if I can afford it. Do you have an audiologist and/or aids? I didn't ask mine what they do for hyperacusis but it'd be worth figuring out if you have both hearing loss and H. I know Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is specifically ideal for those having trouble habituating who have both tinnitus and hyperacusis; might be a good road to try?

 

Hi, when my hyperacusis was severe I tried TRT but did not work for me. This happened many years ago, and actually the "take the hits" approach (going out without earplugs) made my hyperacusis even worse and made me lose some hearing due to accidental exposure to loud noise.

I havent tried hearing aids. Are hearing aids helping you?

 

@Juan, man, I'm sorry the TRT didn't work for you. Seems like everything is just a risk and a "maybe it might make it better" approach. I'm still mulling the options; for every treatment, there is at least one person for whom the treatment made it worse.

The aids are definitely an improvement due to amplification; there is the added acclimatization period where I hear a bunch of sounds at full volume now and can't filter out which ones to listen to. Small gatherings of people are exhausting. And the birds are just SO LOUD! Theoretically that process gets easier and your brain figures it out in about 6-8 weeks. I'll let you know what happens.

 

For me it most certainly has. I will try to keep it short.
Cause: AS but I think poor spine health was a contributing factor (late 2015 onset)
Result: T and H

T Level: According to T Handicap Inventory from Catastrophic (5) to between moderate and mild (2-3). Of note, my onset level went from mild to almost gone then I made the mistake of listening to binaural beats shooting it to what I consider beyond catastrophic levels. I'm not kidding when I say it was like a hair dryer blowing in my ear. I told my wife I was going to kill myself and to forgive me.

H Severity: From sitting in dead silence due to substantial pain to now tolerating 80 dB pretty well. Tolerance is frequency dependent but all in all I can live a normal life. I was able to mow my lawn for the first time this year with acrylic "full" dB cut ear plug. Setbacks from years, to months now days resulting in slight pain and elevated T.

TTTS: From sharp staccato spasms upon any sound to "firing" occasionally beyond 85 dB.

Reactive T: Almost gone, but still sensitive to certain frequencies. Elevated levels last a day or so.

Pulsatile T: from intermittent 6/10 to 1/10

Chirping: from shotgun stutter and pain to short-lived intermittent with minimal sensation.

The really good part is all symptoms are getting better with big changes happening mid 2019. Interestingly, although I'm considered to be at moderate levels, having experienced what I have (despair) without knowing the inventory I would put myself now at a 1. I feel very, very fortunate.

 

Do you mean your back? How was it a contributing factor?

Do you hear well in a group conversation, understand well speech in noise?

 

I have a relative who uses hearing aids due to moderate hearing loss. After a short time stopped using them, except occasionally just to watch TV. The story was the same as yours: some sounds were too amplified and it was uncomfortable.

It is true that even testing for hearing issues can make them worse. Tests like evoked potentials are loud, also stapedial reflex is very loud, let alone the dreaded MRI.

Actually I had an MRI once when this condition started and that was really really painful. I have been waiting for 9 years for MRI machines to get better and in this time there have not been many improvements. In order to get good quality and detailed imaging MRI machines are still very loud. It is like loudness is correlated with image quality.

And when I did have an MRI 9 years ago, despite my condition, no one took the time or cared about counselling about the test, so I had a really hard time, and pains for months after the test.

Now I am worried because my hearing changed a lot this year for no particular reason. I am even wondering if it may have to do with this COVID thing, although I haven't felt bad, or had fever or anything. I just started hearing worse and worse.. in the last 6 months I only encountered loud noise like 4 times or so... leafblower, car horn, a power tool around (not very close), and one morning of works nearby. So it is not really much noise, and I was wearing hearing protection at all times, but my body took it really bad for some reason...

 

@StubbyJ, after listening to the binaural beats did your tinnitus ever come back down? Or did you just habituate to it? I'm worried about trying sound therapy for that reason.

 

Neck and back; especially cervical. Yup, yup. When my T emulated a hair dryer understanding people was difficult.

 

Good question. It's gotten a great deal better but never fully recovered and still have the second tone it caused. IMHO, stay away from all sounds unnatural, acupuncture and electroacupuncture. All three either made me and/or a close personal friend worse with it never returning to baseline. Instead concentrate on your overall health with things like physical therapy if applicable.

 

How loud would you say it is in virtual dB?

 

I wish I could watch TV and not hear it.

 

@StubbyJ
Was the acupuncture treatment for your T only or for H too? I’m doing acupuncture right now for poor blood flow. I have T, and symptoms of PT not properly diagnosed yet and also have Hyperacusis.

Thanks

 

You will when RL-81 and FX-322 come out.
Meanwhile just imagine your TV has bad speakers....

 

My electroacupuncture was intended to help with T. I feel neutral regarding "standard" acupuncture but I strongly discourage the use of electro-a anywhere near the head. Simply not worth the risk in my book. I so wish I could take it back....yea, I know, join the group...Ha!

 

@StubbyJ

I’ve never heard of electro acupuncture before. So glad you’ve mentioned it. Wishing you the best. Thanks for the reply.

 

I have tried it 4 times, about 1 week apart. It had no effect, unfortunately.

 

Mostly cervical and lower back.

Yes, I hear just fine in group conversations speech isn't a problem. On loud T days I have have a bit of in issue. My T fluctuates rather greatly from time to time.

 

Be careful.

 

Super common practice, also known as dry needling.

 

Common or not, it sure impacted my tinnitus for the worse.

 

I generally found acupuncture to raise mine as well. Both with and without the electric component. What I meant was that the electric needling is a super common thing among both physical therapists and acupuncturists generally and is common enough that I don’t think it is usually considered risky or untested. As to an individual’s tinnitus, you mileage may vary so to speak.