Hyperacusis and Noxacusis with 4 Young Kids Around You — Advice?

I have been reading this forum for days and still cannot seem to determine whether earplugs are recommended, or NOT recommended for hyperacusis and noxacusis.

I have 4 kids. Number 2 and 3 (ages 9 and 12) fight like hell, and number 4 is a toddler going through a squealing and tantrum stage, and they are actually hurting me. I asked the middle kids to separate several times today because they were fighting and it was causing my pain. They wouldn't stop and so I had to mildly raise my voice at them and now I am paying for it. That was 5 hours ago and my ear is still really painful. My toddler is going through an annoying as heck phase where he squeals when he is happy, and squeals and cries when he is not happy. Plus he is throwing and slamming things. I am not coping with it. My ears are being slammed every 5-10 minutes. What was once very normal in my household is now causing me immense pain and suffering.

Yesterday my Alexa spoke to me in her usual volume and my ear instantly blocked and throbbed.

I have had tinnitus for 2.5 months but hyperacusis and noxacusis are fairly new (about 3.5 weeks). I feel the timing is crucial right now to get the treatment protocol right if I am to overcome this instead of getting worse.

I don't know what the correct thing to do is though. Doctors are no help at all, breathtakingly useless and they have done me more harm than good. I'm on my own to research and take advice off people from the internet.

Ear plugs to protect my ears, or no ear plugs to desensitise? How do I overcome hyperacusis and noxacusis?

I do not know the cause of my tinnitus/hyperacusis/noxacusis. I had 3 weeks of severe migraines around the time this started. Going back over my calendar the other day, I also realised I had an MRI days before tinnitus started. I was also taking a lot of Ibuprofen for the headaches... so so many potential causes.

 

Anyone?

I was hoping to wake up this morning to some advice given overnight.

 

Foam ear plugs. Patience.

 

Stop the Ibuprofen immediately. I know it helps with the pain but it is ototoxic and you are only doing more damage.

As for the rest, you MUST protect. There are enough of us here now who have been through this who know that re-exposure, especially in the acute phase where symptoms are new, can only do more damage. The same cannot be said for protecting. Given you have screaming kids, you'd be good to also buy some industrial ear defenders or ear muffs. You can wear them round your neck and can easily put them on and off depending on when your kids get loud.

This condition is also made worse by stress and anxiety. Having that protection will help you manage that anxiety while your ears take their time to heal. In the meantime, load up on all the supplements. Mainly Magnesium citrate or glycinate (I recommend Calm by Natural Vitality) and as many anti-oxidants as you can (Astaxanthin, Curcumin/Turmeric, Vitamin C, E, A, N-Acetyl Cysteine etc.)

 

What noxacusis symptoms do you experience? Do you have burning pain or stabbing pain? Is your pain immediate, delayed or both? Do you have facial pain or does the pain stay in your ears?

 

Thank you. I stopped the Ibuprofen immediately around the January 3rd 2021 when I learned it was ototoxic. I had no idea before that and my doctor told me it was fine to continue taking longer term because I wasn't old with kidney problems.

My left ear tends to get sharp shooting pains, and it flutters with triggering sounds. My right ear (my worse one) almost immediately blocks up and aches after sound. The aching can last days. I am not getting pain in my face.

I have become so sensitive to sound though, and it has escalated even in the last day or so. Last night I had to turn my masking apps off that I use for sleep because I am noticing high pitches in sounds and tunes (like the guitar in the Relax Melodies app) that I never did before, and it was piercing. When I go to the toilet, I flush and run because the flush is becoming too loud.

 

I’m so sorry that you’re in this position with kids. I have two kids, too, and I understand how hard it is. When I first got hyperacusis it seemed crazy to wear earplugs around my kids since I’d never had to before and I didn’t want to “overprotect” so I didn’t. My ear pain kept getting worse and worse, then I tried some therapies that made it even worse, and now I can’t even leave my home to take my kids to school or help them with their homework because the hyperacusis is so bad. This condition is extremely unforgiving.

@Aaron91 gave excellent advice. Get some muffs and earplugs, and use them as much as needed. Also take as many of those supplements as you can tolerate.

Wishing you lots of luck, and I hope you can avoid getting worse.

 

Hi @AliasM -- I'm sorry to hear how sensitive your system has become, and how difficult it is to escape some of the sounds that are only making things worse. As far as protection, there's a fairly lengthy thread on this forum that presents most of the viewpoints people have on this topic. Below is my own. -- Take care!

Protecting? Overprotecting? Not Protecting?

 

Thank you both so much. I have worn ear plugs most of today and the ear feels a little better. My tinnitus is awful today. It is like static in my brain and my brain feels like it is sizzling. Do other get that too?

Marin what were the therapies that you tried that didn't work?

I bought some of the Curcumin today. I have been taking Magnesium for a while. I'm not sure it is doing anything but I'll persist.

Off to read that thread now. Thanks again.

 

First I tried hearing aids that reduced loud noises and painful frequencies. I suspect that this made me worse because I was already sensitive to artificial audio, and hearing aids are just like little speakers in your ears.

I also tried one session of LLLT (low level laser therapy) which ended up being catastrophic. If you search this forum you’ll see many success stories, but for me it was the worst decision of my life. It’s been over 4 months and my hyperacusis is still so much worse than it was before the treatment.