Hyperacusis — No Tinnitus — at Age 16 from Listening to Loud Music Through Earphones?

Hi,

I'm a 16-year-old and I think I've developed loudness hyperacusis but no tinnitus.

I had very mild sensitivity to noise in the 7 months leading up to now probably due to listening to loud music through earphones.

Last week it's gotten so much worse all of a sudden (I stopped using earphones for the past month and even before that I was listening at safe volumes).

The thing is, I got my ears checked out by a doctor who said I have swollen eardrums (she told me to take Ibuprofen and Paracetamol and if no improvements, antibiotics).

Does this mean my hyperacusis will go away as my eardrums heal? If not, will I get better anyways? I can't live the rest of my life like this.

 

You're 16; youth and chance are on your side here.

As long as you follow your doctors instructions, avoid loud noises/places and headphone use, this will very likely be temporary.

 

Thanks for your reply, I have some questions though.

1. In instances where I can't avoid loud situations e.g., train rides, will the use of earbuds be adequate? Of course I will try my best to avoid these situations entirely.

2. I am pretty sure I developed this from noise damage due to blasting music through headphones, do you then still agree that I can recover?

Thank you again so much <3

 

Yes, I think you will recover. Use earplugs in noisy or uncomfortable situations and just avoid loud noises as best as possible. You don't mention how long you have had this, but certainly give it a few months to resolve. Continued exposure to loud noises could make it worse, even after you most likely recover. If after a few months it doesn't improve, then you can consider seeing an audiologist who has experience treating hyperacusis. This might require using wearable sound generators for 8 hours or more a day, starting at a very low level and slowly increasing the volume over time. Typically over the course of 3 months to 2 years it will resolver the hyperacusis.

It is worth watching this guy's story with his hyperacusis:

My Hyperacusis Success Story Part 1

You'll have to search YouTube for part 2.

 

Absolutely not. You want earplugs (preferably foam), or ear defenders.

Earplugs for if you want subtlety. Ear defenders for ease of use, and in emergencies where you don't have time for earplug insertion.

I have narrow ear canals so wear this brand of foam plug. I'm thinking for your age, these might be the most appropriate, but try different brands and find what's comfortable for your ears (I will add however that I have yet to find any non-custom made earplug that didn't start hurting after an hour or so).

With ear defenders, something like the Peltor X4a would do. Light but offers decent protection.

Yeah, as I said earlier, your age really works to your advantage right now.

When I was 16 I suffered some big hearing traumas, and subsequent tinnitus, from frequent attendance of rock concerts. Always temporary and would return to normal after a couple of weeks.

In your case, thank your lucky stars you're not experiencing tinnitus; that's a very good sign.

So yes, I think you've got an extremely high chance of making a full recovery here (as long as you stop the headphone use, don't spend time in loud places without protection, and don't suffer any further significant noise damage).

Keep us updated with what happens, but don't stress over it, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just treat it as a learning experience, and remember things can get as bad as they are now permanently, not to mention much worse (than you could even imagine) if you don't look after them ears in future.

 

Hi @Safari1999, how would you describe your symptoms exactly?

 

Discomfort from everyday sounds, my family's voices seem too loud. I have ear fullness, ear aches. My noise sensitivity has increased in the past 4 days.

 

What do you mean by significant noise damage? My noise sensitivity has increased over the past couple of days. Does that count?

 

Dropping a glass and it smashing; sitting on a bus when some kid pops a balloon; blasting your ears with noisy music on speakers or headphones; being in a room with someone drilling through a wall; walking past roadworks; standing next to a supercar throttling it's engine; being in the vicinity of a gunshot or an explosion.

Think along these lines when considering significant noise trauma.

This is a topic of debate, so there's no definitive answer as to whether your tolerance to sound has really been lowered, or if it just feels that way when you have hyperacusis.

In my personal opinion, it would be best to assume you are more susceptible to damage from noise than a normal person right now, as your ears are "injured" (for want of a better term) and currently "healing".

Think of it as having a broken wrist; best thing is to avoid picking up anything heavy until it's fully healed. Now adapt that analogy for your ears and sound.

 

Ok, thank you so much. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

 

Try Howard Leight Multimax earplugs. They have a larger end and also a smaller tapered end, so you can use whichever works better. It is what I use if I want some protection but don't want to completely isolate my ear.

You can find them on eBay an a few other places.

 

I agree with @Damocles' suggestions, @Safari1999. Try protecting your ears as much as possible, especially in the beginning. It doesn't matter if it feels weird or you get the odd comment, if your ears need the quiet, give it to them.

I woke up to hyperacusis and dysacusis last year and it turned me into a hermit for half / three quarters of a year because not just external noise but even listening my own voice hurt. It's not gone but it definitely got better with time.

Don't give up hope and do what feels right to you. Nobody who hasn't suffered a hearing related injury themselves really understands what it means to be affected by something we've all been taken for granted until it wasn't. So, don't try doing anybody any favours by pretending to be unaffected by / or go along with things you were able to do before.

I'm confident your condition will improve but even if and when it does you now have an underlying condition that sets you apart from your peers and that you'll have to be aware of which is a challenge when you're still so young and want to try things out and discover the world.

I'm not saying this to discourage you or make you feel sad, but because I don't want you to come back here in a couple of years time with the severe and chronic version of what you're dealing with at the moment.

Take care of yourself and put yourself / your hearing first!

 

Do you also feel a stabbing pain when exposed to loud sounds, such as the clanging of the dishes? Like you've bumped your toe to the table leg?

I think we can only give somewhat accurate advice if we precisely know what your symptoms are.

When are you going to visit the doctor again?

 

God. I want to cry.

 

No pain when hearing sounds, just earache after a long period of being exposed to sounds like a loud train/bus ride.

I'm making a GP appointment tomorrow and I plan to see an ENT within the next few weeks. I've already been to a doctor who told me I have swollen eardrums and she prescribed me some antibiotics. I haven't taken them yet however, right now just Paracetamol and Ibuprofen (which aren't doing anything).

I'm sensitive to a lot of everyday sounds like the tap running. And to high frequency sounds like bus doors opening that screech a little.

 

Maybe that is not what you mean, but I'd be careful using the word 'noise trauma' in this context, because it could give the false impression that being exposed to the sound of dropping glass will always cause sensorineural hearing loss, which is simply not the case. Whether or not these sounds will exacerbate your hyperacusis, if what @Safari1999 is experiencing is in fact pain hyperacusis, depends on whether or not they trigger the auditory nociceptive system. So even sounds below dB tresholds commonly regarded as 'safe' for the cochlear hair cells, meaning they do not cause haring loss, can trigger this system. The only way to avoid triggering this system, causing further sensitization of these pain receptors, is to avoid sounds that are experienced as painful.

 

It is good to hear you are seeking professional help. Before you are reading all these messages on here and stressing out about the possibility of your life being ruined, just keep in mind that all these symptoms could be explained by your swollen eardrums.

Just a quick Google search gives me this:

"Symptoms that may occur along with a bulging eardrum include:

• Pain in the affected ear or ears
• Fullness in the ear caused by trapped fluid behind the eardrum
• Temporary hearing loss
• Fever

For all you know your symptoms will go away once your infection is cured. The fact that you do not experience pain directly in response to sound means there is probably no serious, irreversible damage to your cochlear.

Your sensitivity to sound could be entirely psychological. Do you maybe have some sort of information processing disorder?

 

I don't experience any sounds as painful though, just louder than they should be. The only pain I experience is when I have earaches or random pains in my ear which can occur with or without the presence of noise.

 

No information processing disorder BUT I did go through a very stressful period of about 2 weeks where I lost a lot of sleep and was very anxious (I'd convinced myself that I had pre-diabetes because before that I was suffering from binge eating disorder - the binging lasted about 5 months).

I hope to God that what you're saying turns out to be true but I am still worried because I do think there is a chance I have noise damage because of how much I used to listen to loud music at loud volumes. Before this, I had very slight noise sensitivity which I went to a GP to get checked out for and he said my ears were fine. Also often I couldnt use earphones for longer than an hour without my ears becoming painful and sensitive.

I have all of those symptoms apart from the fever.

Also, I don't experience pain in response to sound (only discomfort) but I do have pain in general in the form of earaches. How would you explain this?

I think I'm going crazy, just last week I was co convinced I was diabetic and that turned out to be false. Now I have a permanent hearing disability? Ugh.

 

It honestly sounds like you have a lot going on in your life. Your perceived hypersensitivity to sounds could very well be a result of this stress, not necessarily the result of hearing damage. But even if your hyperacusis is the result of hearing damage, which I very much doubt, you will absolutely recover because your symptoms are so mild. I think everyone one this forum has listened to too loud music at some point. Only the really severe cases get stuck with chronic pain hyperacusis (which is related to hearing damage).

One possible explanation could be that sounds irritate your infected eardrum. But I am not a doctor of course.

Honestly I would just stay away from this forum for a while. Everyone on here is pessimistic and depressed, but not necessarily realistic. Maybe you suffer from hypochondriasis? You should discuss these things with your GP. Try the fix your issues first, and if you still suffer from hyperacusis, you can consider to visit this forum again. It is pointless speculating about it if your hyperacusis could be resolved if these issues are taken care of.

 

Thanks, but I woke up to tinnitus in both ears this morning. I'm now stressed again.

Do you really think I haven't suffered hearing damage? I used to play music until it hurt my ears.

 

Have you started taking the antibiotics that your doctor prescribed? I think you need to address the inflammation that your doctor has seen and follow through with that treatment. Take care of any medical condition and then see where you are at.

 

Nope, I will soon though (hopefully today).

 

Impossible for us to tell. And even if we could tell you, we wouldn't know for sure whether your tinnitus and sensitivity to sound are related to your hearing loss. There are lots of people who have hearing damage without having the slightest bit of tinnitus.

Besides, whether or not the music you listened to damaged your hearing, it's in the past anyway. So there is no point in worrying about that.

 

@Safari1999, swollen eardrums are a classic symptom of acoustic shock - see the supplementary videos at the bottom of this paper on acoustic shock.

See also the schematic below, which will help you understand what happens in the middle ear after acoustic shock and how hyperacusis can get 'stuck' in a vicious cycle.



As you are in the acute stage, the actions you take in the short term can have a huge impact on your long term outlook:

a) Cut out headphones and exposure to any and all loud sounds that make you feel uncomfortable. If you need to stay home or in your room for a few weeks, you should do that, even if it means missing out on things.

b) Get excellent ear protection, such as ear plugs and muffs which you can swap as and when required.

c) Buy ionic liquid Magnesium and take it every day - very important. All other forms of Magnesium are rubbish.

d) Avoid clenching or tensing your jaw/throat - see supplementary video 2 in the paper I linked, which shows the effect of the jaw on the ear drum. You may do this without realising if you are on the computer a lot and have forward head posture. Avoid looking down at your phone etc and avoid hinging at the neck. Palpate your suprahyoid muscles every 10 minutes as a checking procedure to make sure they are not tensed up.

e) Eliminate all forms of stress as best as you can

f) Avoid high histamine foods as best as you can and preferably go on a low histamine diet for the time being, but not at the expense of this making you more stressed.

Finally, avoid antibiotics unless you have a clear clinical diagnosis of an ear infection, as they can be ototoxic to the cochlea. Do you know what antibiotic you've been prescribed?

 

Amoxicillin.

 

Not to offend the kid, but he is 16 years old, he is not going to understand what any of that means. Doesn't that graphic refer to pain hyperacusis anyway? He mentioned how he does not experience direct pain in response to sound, which means nociceptors are not activated and that cycle is not activated.

 

He doesn't need to understand all of it. The benefit of the graphic is that it helps to visualise an overall biological process that is likely happening in his ear, which in my opinion will serve in offsetting the very bad advice that he will likely receive from his doctor/ENT/audiologist, which is that "nothing is wrong" with his ears - something we have all experienced as sufferers, but would even be particularly cruel for a 16 y/o.

As for the graphic representing only pain hyperacusis, the paper from which that graphic comes from does not say that at all. Of course, we lack animal models for hyperacusis, so it's difficult to know, and the cochlea models i.e. Liberman + Fuchs are fairly speculative.

As we lack a middle-ear animal model it is really difficult to know for sure, but the fact he is experiencing ear fullness suggests a tonic tensor component, which is consistent with the overall symptom cluster of acoustic shock, and that includes hyperacusis. Fullness also can be caused middle ear pressure issues (which can be caused by inflamed middle ear mucosa).

As for the "cycle" being activated or not, symptoms between sufferers obviously vary and things can also take time. I did not initially have pain from sound after my acoustic shock, but a month later I did.

 

If you've been prescribed Amoxicillin, then take it.

Please listen to a medical professional before you listen to anyone on this forum.

A bit like @StoneInFocus has said, if you get stuck with this condition (unlikely, btw, as I mentioned before), then you'll learn to navigate it as you get older, and then you can pick and choose what treatments your doctor recommends that you know will be beneficial, or present an unnecessary risk, to your health. But as it stands right now, just do what they say, follow their advice to the letter and chances are you won't become a permanent member of our wonderful club.

Think of it like when you install software on your computer:

If you don't know what you're doing where computers are concerned, then just select the recommended settings.

Once you do know what you're doing however, you can select advanced/custom installation.

 

I agree that might be bad advice if he is in fact suffering from pain hyperacusis. But there are multiple causes of sensitivity to sound, not only acoustic shock.

One stage of the cycle reads "Activation of Nociceptors" which accumulates in "referred pain". Whether you would call it pain hyperacusis or noxacusis, it refers to a particular type of hyperacusis related to tissue damage, not to a type of hyperacusis that is related to how sounds are processed in the brain. Your advice to him would only make sense if what he is experiencing is in fact noxacusis, wouldn't it?

Correct me if I am wrong, but tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS) doesn't necessarily need to be caused by acoustic shock at all. It can be a result of anxiety alone.

The point that I am trying to make is that we don't know what is wrong with @Safari1999's ears yet, and that we should be careful with giving all sorts of drastic advice to avoid worsening his stress. Even if he in fact suffers from what you describe, the fact that his symptoms are so mild yet and he is so young means he will probably be cured, regardless of what he does in the next months.