Hyperacusis Gets Better

Got hit with hyperacusis October 2017. It has now been 8 months and I am getting much better. I can actually see a time soon where I can go back out to my man cave and jam of course with caution. One night back in October I press the limits of loud music not knowing that such a thing as hyperacusis even existed.

The very next day I discover that my new ailment was called hyperacusis.

I wanted to freak out and I knew I was in big trouble. I work construction and was in some fear of losing that career. The first 3 months were laced with days where the ear plugs had to stay in most of the time during on the job activities. Without the money for fancy training I begin to calm my own fears by Reading Post just like this and realizing I was going to have to deal with hyperacusis and hope to see daylight again, so to speak. I can now see that I will be able to listen to my music at what I consider enjoyable loud levels being cautious of my situation of course. My only concerns will be pushing my luck and experiencing a major setback. I have learned not to get caught standing flat-footed such as when a friend started his Harley-Davidson with straight pipes. It was so loud it set me back 30 days. Trust me I watch out for that kind of nonsense.

If you are reading this, I would like to give a couple suggestions.

Number one, don't panic and when you do panic, realize this is only for a season.

Number two, live your life, learn what hurts your ears but don't be afraid to allow your ears to hear things that you know you normally heard without concern. Common sense comes into play here. I never mow the yard without protection now and I've noticed after 8 months I can accidentally get by with things that at first I could not even consider. It is a way of letting me know that I am getting better. It used to kill my ear to rip off a foot of duct tape or if someone slammed a car door I would have to cover my ears faster than a greased jackrabbit.


Hang in there everybody, I think one year is a magic number!

 

Hi there,
your post can be uplifting to the members here. Tinnitus is a complex ordeal and all of us are different. Some can piece their lives together in 6 months and for some it can take 6-24 months. All of us deal with tinnitus in a different way. Your post is a positive one and I like how you live your life. I'd protect my ears and not risk anything, in known spots that are loud, a good set on ear plugs should be used.

Good post....

 

That's really good to hear and gives me hope for an improved future.

 

Congrats! I believe H is more phycological , the brain goes into "defensive mode" when it percieevs sounds as a threat.

If you expose yourself to every day noise slowly and gently, for a lot of people you can make some good recovery in a year.

I used to have some real sound sensitivity but I'm doing better too.

 

To Audio Dad:

Interesting post. Just one thing to all from someone with h. for 22 years: when you get better ,as most will if they are careful, don't push your luck doing new things you would not have done before. H. can bite back real quick. An example: I had to do a lot of calls because of a housing move recently. I actually got better during that time, so I made even more calls when I should have stopped. One day I went too far and had a bad 2 day setback , with a lot of panic that I had messed up for as long time. Luckily ,no.

Good luck to everyone.

Marco

 

A few of us do not get better, sadly. Myself included.

 

I had it since Jan 29

 

I got you beat. I have had it since june 2017.

 

SandraKd:

I am sorry to hear that you have not gotten better,but most do.

I have to clarify that over 22 years, I have gotten generally worse, but luckily I always come back to a comfortable level after many many setbacks. For those who start out really bad, I do not know what to recommend. I know that even some of those have gotten better especially with the TRT treatment. You may wish to read an account of a really bad case who recovered nicely: the book ''Tortured by Sound'', Cannot remember the name of the author.

Marco

 

Luckily I don't have a severe case of H. My H is more mild/moderate. I have trouble with being in large crowds, so family gatherings are a struggle and I hate high frequency noises. If a noise is high frequency ist does not have to be loud to bother my ears. doing the dishes and handling dishes/silverware, still brings me uncomfort. But I have no burning or stabbing pain as some do. But I do miss being able to go to a family gathering without ear plugs, as it makes it hard to hear people with them in.

 

TheDanishGirl (of Denmark !) :

Hi again. I am in Canada. Gotta leave the library right now because some idiot is using his phone in the library here and those phone sounds get to me fast even with my protectors on. Glad to hear that you do not have a bad case of H. Gotta go.... Oops he just ended the call...don't have to go. But now my ears are burning from those tinny phone sounds. Ugh, my life has been like this for 22 years...constantly on the defensive from a noisy city environment when not even being in a library can be an absolutely safe place. Yesterday it was some drilling that just started, and I had to leave real fast.
And I temporarily lost my ear protectors last night...which sent me into a panic this morning when I found out. I had an alternative pair but really old. Luckily the staff of the hotel where I am staying had found my protectors and that was a relief! What a day. I am very anxious and all these tragic stories here are making me worse. How to find a balance between supporting others and not wanting to be discouraged and too affected by all the pain we are all experiencing?

Take care.

Marco

 

The author is Carol L. Brook.

 

This is a very encouraging story of hyperacusis
which bothers me more than tinnitus (even though both are evils).
I was down recently due to set back of both T & H.
The testimony motivates me to improve my hyperacusis with effort.

 

Thank you for sharing your story. Hyperacusis can indeed get a lot better or even completely better with time and treatment. A lot of people who improve do not stick around on these forums, so people who have just gotten the condition often get the wrong picture because all they read is doom and gloom from people in the acute phase or from the small minority for whom improvement is more difficult. Positive stories like yours really help. Thanks again!

 

RobHing
Yes the author is Carol Brook. There is only one thing about Carol ,whom I have exchanged with. She is kind of a fanatic about Dr Jastreboff who invented TRT therapy. So be ready not to be able to get in a word edgewise.

Marco

 

To some of you in the thread still dealing with hyperacusis.

I got severe hyperacusis in July 2013 and it took me about 3 years to fully recover. It was rough but it can happen, but sometime it takes time and patience. I had to also systematically desensitize my hearing over that period of time and then continue to slowly expose myself to more and more noise since.

Now I'm back to living a very normal life and do most things without ear plugs except for the obvious times where they are needed: power tools, clubs, certain bars, etc.

It's tough but recovery can happen! Stay strong!

 

@yonkapin did you also have muscle spasms in your ear along with H, or was it H just by itself?

 

Oh yeah for sure. I had tonic tensor tympani syndrome in both ears. Different frequencies would trigger it in each ear. Someone sniffing or sneezing would trigger the right and then snare drums and those sort of mid type frequencies triggered the left ear. Wasn't super severe but noticeable at times. Used to also get deep random thudds (no trigger) that would come out of nowhere, that was when I was fresh with the hyperacusis though.

 

I just want to add my experience for the benefit of those currently suffering from H. I experienced it for the first time in 2014. It was very bad. After I got my emotions under control, it gradually faded and ceased altogether after a few months.

However, it did return in November of 2017. I did not panic this time because I knew that it might pass as it previously did in 2014. You can read my post on my profile page. It completely subsided again after about three months.

So, don't lose heart if it's very intrusive in your life at this time. There's a very good chance that over time it will improve and subside altogether. Additionally, don't panic if it should return. It doesn't mean that it will be as bad as before or that you'll have it for the rest of your life.

I hope that some of the posts in this thread will help to allay your fear and anxiety to some degree and give you hope for the future.

 

Thank you @Audio dad @yonkapin @jimH for sharing your success and encouragement. I just hit the one year mile post on my T&H&ear pain. My gift — random epically painful setback... back to square one sort of! Yonkapin you say it best.. “it’s a wild ride” for sure. Glad to know 1 year is NOT a life sentence. I’m gonna keep grinding. Thanks again.

EDogg

 

Right there with ya bud.. got bad tinnitus and hyperacusis in Nov 2017.. even the sound of qtips in my ears was too loud at one point. Couldn't watch tv, definitely no music! My work is loud too and I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep doing my job, even with hearing protection. Luckily I've slowly gotten better, still wear protection in a lot of "normal" situations but things are so much better.. The light at the end of the tunnel is visible now where as before there was no hope at all