How to Treat Hyperacusis If You Only Get Pain from Certain Frequencies?

Hi everyone,

When I first got my tinnitus I had some mild hyperacusis with pain which went completely away after a few days of being kind to myself and rest, but a few month later it came back after the onset of my visual snow (perhaps due to the extreme anxiety I was experiencing because of it). That was beginning of July. It was at the point where I couldn’t watch an entire film and artificial audios hurt my ears. Fast forward to now, I can tolerate laptop speakers for a while and can watch TV fine, but I still get weird pains like down my neck, in my ears and sometimes in my back, usually for short sharp sounds. What I don’t get is walking next to a busy road with cars I’m usually fine, but anything like rustling or crackling noises in a silent room cause pains. Also I went for a hike in nature for a week and my ears felt good, ok I did still get ear pains From time to time, but it was not as bad as when I’m at home. I think it was the nature sounds like wind, rustling of trees, that was a kind of sound therapy to my ears.

Does this suggest that sound therapy could work for my pain hyperacusis?

I’ve heard sound therapy only works for loudness H, and I’m a bit weary of making it worse as my case isn’t awful at the moment but would like to try and improve if possible.

In addition, I’ve noticed sometimes that scratching noises, e.g. scratching nails against cotton fabric, feel quite grating and give me that nails down the chalk board feeling, is that a common symptom of hyperacusis? It’s very weird and don’t think I’ve come across anyone else who experiences it.

I’m also a bit confused as to why my hyperacusis set in more permanently this time, and how it went away so easily when my tinnitus first started. Are my ears permanently damaged and there was a delayed onset, or has my brain just become overly sensitive and stuck in this loop to due to the anxiety I’ve experienced this year? I’m hoping it’s the latter as i have been seeing improvement in my hyperacusis since it’s second onset in July, and perhaps my brain will eventually recalibrate itself if I do the right thing.

But the question is... what is the right thing? Wish it was easier to get advice on this.

If you have any tips on how you deal with your pain hyperacusis they’re greatly welcomed. Here’s mine: if you can, go for a walk in nature, and enjoy the wind. It’s very soothing to my ears as it doesn’t have high frequencies. It’s like free brown noise!! (I think wind is brown noise?)

Anyways, hyperacusis is a scary thing to go through but I’m glad we have each other <3