Hyperacusis and TTTS Getting Better

Hi folks,

I have been a longtime lurker on this forum and it has proved an invaluable lifeline to me after I developed hypercusis and TTTS since May this year.

Like most people, our lives have been thrown upside down due to the impact of COVID-19 which only adds to our woes.

A timeline of events:

Mid May: developed fluttering in my left ear.

Mid June: exasperated by significant bouts of pain that came and went every other day. Two weeks leave off work. I am a contractor so did not get paid. Significant insomnia, could not perform effectively at work. I muddled through and developed significant depression and anxiety. Antidepressants. Mild hyperacusis: feedback from dishes, bags and cutterly etc. Now largely gone.

August: my contract was not renewed, largely based on my performance that was seriously hampered by my condition. Depression worsened due to lay off. Saw an ENT who was predictably as effective as a Chocolate Tea Pot. Fair to say I knew more than him, having immersed myself in this forum for 4 months.

September: focusing on my new predicament has allowed me to take my mind off the TTTS, which is an anxiety based condition. Only now mild flutter and the once ear pain went from a 8/10 some days to now not even an ache.

CAUSE and MORAL: stay away from using earbuds for long periods, folks! Or adopt the 60 minutes at 60% volume rule: even better don't use them at all! Though I don't know if this was the definitive cause, it seems highly likely. I binned them.

Now: I still have depression largely as result of job loss but my ear is now one less thing to worry about.

I wish you all hope in your struggles and owe thanks to @Michael Leigh and others for providing invaluable support on this forum.

I am lucky: my condition was mild but it may offer some light to the cliche that time can sometimes be a healer.

Andy x

 

@Andymo

HI Andy,

Thank you for your kind comments they are much appreciated. I am sorry to know about your tinnitus onset and the loss of your job. Pleased that you are making progress and I'm sure this will continue to improve.

Take care and wishing you all the best
Michael

 

Hi @Andymo.

Did you get ear fullness and sound distortions like from people sounding like they are talking through fans or robotic sounding. My family caught the COVID-19 virus and luckily symptoms were all mild, however I have now noticed an increase in my super high pitched tinnitus with more hyperacusis and then the development of TTTS. I actually reached out to Myriam Wescott who does extensive research on this subject and she pretty much confirmed that I have the classic acoustic shock symptoms. My shock occurred back in late August of this year from my daughter's scream in my ear. I have been super anxious through this whole phase and catching the virus did not help at all. I get the every other day ear fullness and it feels like my affected ear does not have a protective filter for sound. Like all sounds are too loud. Living with 2 noisy kids is stressful but being overprotective is what I am worrying about. It seems like a decent scream from them can cause the fullness almost immediately with a burning sensation along my face and ear. Hope you recover soon!

 

Hi,

You may remember, my child also yelled in my ear. Can you describe the TTTS? Have you had headaches also?

Hope you are feeling better.

Teresa

 

Hi @twa.

It's a feeling of pressure and ear fullness. It's the ears' natural way to protect itself against loud noises. However mine is constantly reacting since I have hyperacusis as well so the brain perceives the sound as harmful since it seems that it is louder when in fact regular ordinary sounds will not damage your ears. I'm learning to ease into allowing myself more exposure to louder noises like my kids yelling/screaming. The sound distortions seem to be the most scary where everyone sounds like a robot. I suppose it's a symptom of TTTS. I was informed to not create anxiety or nervous feelings about this since it will just continue the cycle. In fact I did not stress about anything yesterday and the sound distortions went away for half the day. I woke up this morning feeling ear fullness again and distortions came back. It has something to do with the middle ear creating pressure on the eustachian tubes.

I only once in a blue moon get slight temporal headaches but only last an hour or so.

 

I get mainly temporal headaches with the tinnitus and hyperacusis. A friend recommended cold ice packs and they have worked wonders with Tylenol. I've noticed I can now listen to the tv and the computer at a slightly higher level. At first, I could hardly bear to be around noise in the house like my kiddo talking loudly or my husband talking. I still ask everyone to quiet down, but I did that before all this happened. I think I am in week eight since my acoustic trauma.

Have you seen any slight changes in your symptoms?

 

How are you doing? I believe we are on similar time frames from when a noise trauma occurred. Hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving.

 

@twa

We did have a good Thanksgiving. Hope you did as well. For close to a month I just let myself go without ear plugs for mostly everything and told myself these noises will not hurt my ears. Tinnitus was still there but not bad and sound sensitivity improved drastically. I got news that my grandfather caught COVID-19 and a few days later passed away. It really caught me off guard. Just a few days ago was the funeral and all my symptoms came back. I am really let to believe that stress and anxiety are causing my symptoms. The tinnitus may stay forever (hopefully not though of course!) but my other symptoms can be drastically improved. I have been taking Xanax sparingly and it really does help with tinnitus volume and all other symptoms but i do not want to get attached. I began working out again and hoping this will do the trick. From your profile you originally got tinnitus from benzo withdrawal.

What were you taking if you don''t mind me asking?

Be well and stay positive. Its hard but it will help.

 

Glad you all had a good Thanksgiving. I was feeling like the hyperacusis was slightly better, but then yesterday I woke up and felt more sensitive. I'm so sorry about the passing of your grandfather. That must be tough. My father is 80 and I worry about him every day.

I was on a super low dose of Clonazepam. My doctor also prescribed Gabapentin and Citalopram. All bad in my opinion. It took 6 months to get off of these using a microtaper, I had to do this myself. My doctor who prescribed was no help. I wanted to avoid side effects and I acquired tinnitus when I tapered off the benzo. Benzos are tough to get off of and Gabapentin is hard too. Tinnitus was very low for 3 years, I never thought of it. Never changed, just soft cicadas. It did not affect my life at all.

Fast forward to quarantine, my child yelled in my ear and I started having fluctuations and loud tinnitus. I'm 10 weeks in with ear fullness, headaches, pressure and the EEEEE sound or tea kettle/ringing.

 

How have you been lately?

 

So glad you are better! Did you have any tinnitus?

 

@twa Much, much better thanks. Tinnitus was only really an occasional quiet low hum in my right ear and a flutter in my left ear. Barely hear hum now apart from at bedtime but too quiet to bother me. I think it was mostly psychological, i.e being fixated with the problem. No ear pain at all now. I may sound smug but I have moved on and will NEVER ever use earphones for the rest of my life. They should be classified to carry an official Health Warning as with cigarettes and listening devices factory set at much lower volumes. How are your symptoms? A

 

@twa Much, much better thanks. Tinnitus was only really an occasional quiet low hum in my right ear and a flutter in my left ear. Barely hear hum now apart from at bedtime but too quiet to bother me. I think it was mostly psychological, i.e. being fixated with the problem. No ear pain at all now. I may sound smug but I have moved on and will NEVER ever use earphones for the rest of my life. They should be classified to carry an official Health Warning as with cigarettes and listening devices factory set at much lower volumes.

How are your symptoms?

 

@SeanD5054 - slight ear fullness yes but now all gone and never heard robotic voices etc. Seven months down the line and any hearing issues are never on my conscience anymore, which is what dragged me into depression: the fear of being stuck with it for a lifetime. Some poor souls do have it permanently though I am lucky enough to have habituated. I do hope things improve for you.

 

Glad you are doing so well! I had a quieter day the day before last. I'm having jaw-ear pressure/tension that is bothering me. I'm trying to carry on as normal to get my mind off of things. Thanks for asking.

twa

 

hi there! can u share her contact info? ty!