Hyperacusis, As I See It

What a conversation with @Michael Leigh turns into every damn time.

Cheers.

 

It's called art.

 

I like it Bartoli...

 

I'm new to all of this and have been incredibly distressed. My tinnitus has changed a lot since I first got it and in fact isn't even my major problem anymore. I have been experiencing sound sensitivity and pain along with horrible noise distortions that make life not really worth living for me anymore. Any time I hear wind in the trees, the faucet, the microwave, white noise etc... I have a metallic cicada sound that accompanies this. I have no idea what this is or what to even do for help.

Have you heard of anything like this? Could TRT help with these distortions?

 

The only thing I've found helped get better for me the "first time" was to NOT listen to loud things full stop at 50 dB.

 

I'll do my best to give my ears a break. I work from home currently which is pretty lucky for me. I don't leave the apartment because it's too cold to. I can't get out of Zoom meetings and I'm a public speaker and am often speaking online conducting trainings. I guess I might just have to give myself some time.

 

Try Earasers.

https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-Hi-Fi-Fidelity-Earplugs-Small/dp/B01L4LKQIE/

They are invisible ear protection.

The standard model attenuates the upper mids/lower treble the most, and low frequencies and high frequencies just 3 dB or so.

This allows you to tolerate voiced and shouty sounds whole having little attenuation for bass and treble. Allowing you to do Zoom calls without anyone knowing u have ear protection. But also it doesn't attenuate low frequencies and super high frequencies enough to suppress you from learning to live with a new threshold.

They also help tolerate music.

 

Omg thank you so much!

 

To add, get the STANDARD version of the Earasers first. Make sure you get the right size for you. If it is not a perfect fit, return and try another size.

The standard has the least attenuation, with up to 13 dB in the upper mids/low treble, while the lows and highs provide just 2 to 4 dB attenuation.

The EURO or MAX have far more attenuation across the spectrum with the 1 kHz to 8 kHz region being most affected. With that said, I've read around here overprotection is bad and it makes sense. As hyperacusis seems to mean tolerance to sound, so one must increase the tolerance threshold somehow.

I would stick with the standard.





As you can see it attenuates low frequencies but peaks are not allowed through. It's a smart way to smooth sounds.

Never use full blown earplugs. Maybe at the beginning after a setback when you have to heal, no doubt.

But at some point, the threshold of tolerance must be increased.
This is a 8th cranial nerve damage, through what I'm gathering from neurologists reporting on hyperacusis.

It's the brain, not always your ears.

 

Those are signs of hearing trouble, or hearing damage. It can go back to baseline if you rest your ears and have no previous history of hearing problems.

In my opinion TRT is just a scam. Its main principle can be applied just listening to music at a volume of your choice, or being surrounded by sound that you can control. Nature sounds are great, like the sea, etc.

 

Indeed, in your opinion, which you are entitled to, but are totally wrong about. You have never tried TRT and if you have corresponded with anyone that has, they probably haven't had correct TRT. I have had it twice. Each treatment lasted 2 years.

Michael

 

I have never had issues with my hearing in my entire life. That's the problem, @Juan, that the sounds of nature that used to bring me joy have this rattling whistle that go along with it, like the river and ocean sounds, rain. Honestly anything with "white noise" in it causes this phenomenon. I used to sit by a damn in the park in the summer and read and enjoy the sounds of the water falling and the river. I just want that back so badly.

@Michael Leigh, what are your thoughts on this or interpretations?

 

@shelbynn, thank you for your question. Hope you don't mind, I will reply to tomorrow, after I have read some of your posts, and have a better understanding of your tinnitus and hyperacusis...

Take care
Michael

 

Michael, stop selling this snake oil that TRT is... You and I know it does not work. I had TRT myself, only to shell out (thank God my insurance paid this) a lot of money that was wasted.

Please stop trying to sell people who are suffering from tinnitus and hyperacusis this scam.

 

TRT is just based on white noise mainly, although it is just sound enrichment, having sound around at a volume you can tolerate and increasing the sound step by step week after week.

As you see, there is nothing scientific about it, and it cannot cure tinnitus or hyperacusis.

 

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

Simple Wikipedia so you'll understand.

 

HI Shelby,

Many things can cause tinnitus although it can occur for no apparent reason. The most common cause is exposure to loud noise. As you've been a member of this forum for a while, you may have noticed, people that regularly use headphones, earbuds and headset are typically prone to it. If you have been a regular user of these devices it's something to consider. However, it reads on your Avatar, cause of tinnitus Idiopathic.

The first post you submitted to this forum mentions, first hearing the tinnitus whilst watching a movie and said you were stoned. Whatever substance you took, it was probably mood changing and see that you have posted on the Marijuana thread. This drug is known for affecting one's mental state and can bring to the forefront of the mind what is dormant and in the subconscious. Therefore, it is quite possible the tinnitus was laying quietly in the background and was brought to the forefront of your mind, whilst you were under the influence. Thus allowing the Limbic system which is the part of the brain that controls our emotions: love, hate, fear and pleasure to latch onto it in a similar way, that most people become aware of tinnitus; whether it is noise induced or caused by an underlying medical condition. This is just my opinion.

I visit various tinnitus groups and read posts where people first noticed tinnitus whilst under the influence of mood changing drugs. Hopefully, with time the tinnitus will recede into the background. I see that you have attended ENT and had various tests. You are also planning to see Dr. Stelios Dokianakis in Holland.

For now I suggest you use low level sound enrichment and not use headphones, earbuds or headset even at low volume. Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

I am sorry to hear that you were scammed @Juan I know it goes on. TRT has to be administered correctly and a person also has to try and help themselves, by reinforcing positivity.

Take care
Michael

 

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I'm kind of the mind that maybe my tinnitus was always there but I hadn't noticed it until it got brought into my awareness. Over the last 2 months I'm fortunate enough to say that I don't notice anymore unless I'm in a silent place like my car. However, that's not what's upsetting me and I don't know if you have any experience with this.

Whenever I turn on the faucet, microwave, am near any water to be honest or any other "white noise" it sounds garbled and distorted. I used to love to listen to the river and wind in the trees but now it's all become so horribly distorted I'm suicidal over it. I have no sound enrichment anymore. What would you suggest?

Has anyone had this and has it gotten better for them?

 

Thank you for your reply @shelbynn. Try not to worry too much because I think you'll make a good recovery in time. I am going to suggest a few things and advise that you follow them. Since you've had tests at ENT and your hearing is normal, my advice is to LEAVE your ears alone. Sorry for shouting but the best treatment for tinnitus in the early stages, which you are in, is to leave the ears alone. Providing you have no hearing loss, balance problems, dizziness, acute pain in your ears and no deafness then it's best to do nothing. If I were you I wouldn't go to see the Dr. in Holland or seek any medical help.

Your ears will naturally recover in time and I've mentioned this in my post: New to tinnitus what to do. It is in the link that I have sent you so please read it. Buy yourself an Oasis sound machine: model S-650 and use it by your bedside for sound enrichment. During the day use low level sound enrichment. This can be nature sounds or relaxing music. The idea is to keep the sounds low. More is explained in my posts. I agree with you the tinnitus has been there for a while dormant, especially if you were a regular user of headphones, earphones, earbuds or headsets. My advice is not to use these devices even at low volume.

I have experienced the distorted sounds you mention when I first got tinnitus. Regularly using sound enrichment will hopefully treat this. Please click on the link below and read my post: From Darkness into Light. It is about a member of this forum, that experienced distorted sounds very similar to you and this eventually went away with time. It will take time so try to be patient. The important thing, is to keep using low level sound enrichment and to try and avoid quiet rooms especially at night.

Go to the top of this thread and read my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it. If you have anymore questions please ask and I'll try to help.

All the best
Michael

From Darkness Into Light | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

I had TRT at one of the most expensive clinics in Spain, with a doctor that had been trained according to Jastreboff's protocols etc and also had CBT and counselling...

TRT does not work.

 

In your opinion TRT doesn't work which you are entitled to.

My comments are for anyone thinking about trying a tinnitus treatment. I advise you to keep away from tinnitus forums and if you can't, don't discuss the treatment you're about to start in them for the reasons above. Such comments can hinder or prevent you having any success. Tinnitus can be very stressful, so don't open yourself up to negative comments surrounding TRT or CBT. I have had TRT twice with counselling and wearing white noise generators and had success on both occasions.

If a person is looking for a complete cure with TRT it won't work. If you start a tinnitus treatment with a negative mindset, then it won't work. If you just want to sit back and expect the therapy to do all the work, without making a conscious effort to incorporate positivity into you life then you won't have any success. Proper TRT requires regular counselling and wearing white noise generators for treating tinnitus and hyperacusis if it is present. This treatment lasts up to two years.

Michael

 

Thank you for your input. I've gotten a nice white noise machine and most of the white noise it plays causes these distortions, but I'm going to play some of the rain sounds at night on low volume while I sleep. The distortions are upsetting but hopefully with staying calm and trying to desensitize myself to low level noise it will go away over time.

 

Keep the sounds low, so they don't draw attention to themselves and give it time for your auditory system to recover.

 

TRT cannot change or alter cochlear damage. That's why it does not work. In many cases hearing issues, including tinnitus and hyperacusis, are caused by noise exposure that made real damage to the cochlea. So this has nothing to do with mindset. If a patient, like I did, follows CBT and counselling and those TRT "protocols" and is optimistic about life and hearing issues, and these "therapies" (which I know define accurately as a snake oil scam) do not work is because they are a scam.

This is not a treatment, it's a scam.

 

People reading this thread that I titled: Hyperacusis, As I See It. Please do not be discouraged by negative thinking people that have hijacked it with their misinformation and lack of understanding of what tinnitus is. This is because of their lack or experience. I mostly advise on noise induced tinnitus and when it is accompanied by hyperacusis because I'm familiar with them.

When a person develops tinnitus due to exposure to loud noise they may also get hyperacusis. It is true the cochlea in the middle ear becomes damaged - however, I prefer to say affected but nevertheless it is the same thing. Some people do not know, the cochlea sends a signal to the brain that a fault or anomaly has occurred and it's picked up by the Limbic system. Here, this signal is generated into a noise that we call tinnitus. The Limbic system controls our emotions: love, hate, fear, pleasure. The tinnitus has now become a part of a person's mental and emotional wellbeing. This is the reason counselling, as part of TRT and CBT can be so helpful in helping a person to accept the tinnitus and not be afraid of it. In many instances through counselling, the brain gradually pushes the tinnitus further into the background where its perception becomes less noticeable and is called habituation. I have written articles about this that are on my started threads.

Please refer to my post at the beginning of this thread on hyperacusis and how it can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing. When a person develops hyperacusis due to noise trauma, some of the sensory hair cells attached to the cochlea, about 15,000 of them, become damaged (affected) which may or may not result in some hearing loss. The cochlea also sends a fault signal to the brain and is picked up in the auditory centre. Here, gateways that allow sound to pass through, have suddenly opened up wide, resulting in certain sounds or all sounds being oversensitive even painful. As mentioned in many of my posts, this oversensitivity can improve by itself over time but in more severe circumstances, professional help is needed by wearing white noise generators as part of TRT, to desensitise the auditory system using sound therapy to gradually close down the gateways to normal.

If hyperacusis is not treated, other problems can occur. Phonophobia and Misophonia, that I have written about in my post: The Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis. Counselling, sound therapy, medication, relaxation exercises - or a combination of them can help a person to cope better with tinnitus.

The thing that is not helpful to someone affected with tinnitus, hyperacusis or both: is having a negative and defeatist attitude to treatment and believes nothing will improve the quality of their life. Tinnitus forums can be good they can also be bad, if you associate with or read posts by negative thinking people.

I wish you well.
Michael

 

Michael, I am afraid I have more experience with severe hyperacusis than you ;-) And that's why I know for sure that TRT does not work and it's a scam.

I would like to have zero experience with hyperacusis but unfortunately life brings tough situations sometimes...

 

Please take note @Juan. I have finished corresponding with you on this topic and have more important things to do. I've already explained how hyperacusis can be treated and in many cases completely cured, for I am living proof. To finish up, please read the following but should you persist on this path, then I will not respond and may even place you on ignore.

Tinnitus is largely controlled by the brain, in the Limbic system to be precise as I have already alluded to. To prove my point, if one were to have their auditory nerve severed (cut) as some have suggested to make them completely deaf, they believe they would no longer hear the tinnitus. This is incorrect as they would still hear it. I visit various tinnitus groups and have corresponded with people that are deaf and still hear tinnitus. Therefore, it is generated in the brain not the ears. Once a person's fear is properly managed whether by self help or professional help such as TRT or CBT is sought, its perception is much reduced known as habituation and for some rarely heard.

Now this is the last I will be corresponding with you on this topic.
Goodbye and I wish you well.

Michael

 

Hi @Juan -- I haven't been watching this discussion closely, but your above statement mystifies me. I've run across numerous testimonials since getting tinnitus three years ago that TRT has worked for them. I'm not sure why you insist it's a scam if it seems pretty clear (to me at least) it works for some people.

 

That's interesting - could you provide some sources on tinnitus being generated by the limbic system?