Hyperacusis, Mostly Just for Quiet Sounds

Hi,

I have hyperacusis, I think, but it is kind of strange. I'm fine with most things, talking to people, being in public, even at a train station I have pretty much no discomfort from any sound. Yet when it comes to low volume sounds, it tends to be worse somehow.

Listening to a video in bed in my bedroom at the lowest volume is really uncomfortable for my ears, even though the sound is only just at a comprehensible level. The same tends to go for headphones, even having it very quiet, it bothers me a lot.

Turning up the sound does not help at all, it makes it worse. I think that my ears just can't deal very well with sounds without any background noise, hence being in a quiet room with low volume sounds is uncomfortable, while being in public with loud noises is totally fine.

I also have tinnitus that tends to scale with my environment, it can be almost silent when in a quiet room, but tends to be a lot louder when in public or around any sorts of louder noises, like a shower.
Like it says on my profile, I don't know what caused all this. It has been mostly static for 4 years. My current hypothesis is that it is posture related, because I have terrible posture, and have had that for years as well. It could also be ETD related. I'm working on my posture, but some of the exercises tend to make my tinnitus worse for a while, and I have had no improvements so far.

Does anyone on here know anything that could help with this?

 

How is it possible that you can be at a train station and not bothered by sounds and low sounds bother you? That sounds strange to me...

 

I think you are on the right track about it possibly being physical thing like a posture or ETD issue. This definitely does not resemble any classic form of pain or loudness hyperacusis. People complain about different frequencies and types of noises being worse than others, but never that louder sounds are better for their hyperacusis.

 

Trust me, I know. I wish I knew enough about hearing to guess what could be happening, but it really does happen like this. Maybe it's not hyperacusis, if it's so different from other people's experiences, but I don't know what else to call it.

 

I see, thank you. I'm far from educated about how hearing works, but I guess the problem may lie in a different area from most. Like in the nerves, rather than the inner ear, or something like that.

 

It may be some sort of misophonia or some malfunction of the outer hair cells, which are the ones responsible for enhancing quiet sounds, low sounds.

 

@Hedgehog i promise you I have the exact same symptoms as you do! When Ever I’m in a quite room, It’s hard for me to watch videos or hear people talk. But when I’m out in public, like bars, trains or parties, my ears are perfectly fine..

I’ve had tinnitus and Hyperacusis for about 3years and a half.. I definitely have ETD and Bad posture. As a matter of face, because I have bad posture, there’s times that I my neck starts to hurt, and I get bad headaches and that’s when my H spikes.. when this happens, I usually take a bath, or use a foam roller on my neck, drink lots of water and relax. I also see a chiropractor, or get massages from time to time. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.

 

Hi! Good to hear that there is someone like me out there. I do have a few questions. What is your tinnitus like? It is reactive, like mine? Can you make it louder by stuff like turning your head all the way to one side, or biting down hard? (I can). What kind of postural problems do you have? I have forward head posture and hunchback posture.
Have you gone to an ENT about the ETD? Could they treat it? I have this corticosteroid spray that opens it up for a while. I have a cold though and it doesn't work well at the moment. Doesn't help with my T and H though, at least not immediately.

 

@Hedgehog my tinnitus is super quite ringing noise. (knock on wood) I only hear it when I’m in a quite room. I can mask my Tinnitus with my fan. I only have reactive T when my Eustachian tubes gets clogged. Like when I get colds or sinus infections.. if I bite down my tinnitus gets louder. And posture is the same as yours. Hunchback with my head leaning forward.

my ENT told me there was nothing we could do. He said my ETD should go away on its own.

 

My right ear has the same symptoms as you do. No tinnitus in my right ear but low frequency sounds make my ears resonate, sounds like a low rumble.

 

I think I get what you mean. My hyperacusis seems to be worse when I am in a quiet room. It feels like my ears are listening out way too acutely when I am in a quiet room that just the sound my gf's ankle cracking when taking a step in the other room is enough to startle me.

I was just in florida over the holiday for 4 days. I was outside all day, and my H never really bothered me. I believe being around natural ambient noise really helped (like the ocean). This has me really thinking that wearing pink noise generators could help me.

Still though loud sounds do bother me too. And very high pitch sounds bother me the most like squeaky car breaks.

 

That does not sound like hyperacusis. I think that's not hyperacusis.

 

I have hyperacusis. My LDLs are low as shit.

 

Yup, I get this too. Hyperacusis is significant if there’s no background noise like a fan or something.

 

Then how can you cope with sounds from traffic?

 

Because I force myself to. Staying inside 24/7 is a great way to make your hyperacusis worse.

 

Hahaha that's a good one! You cannot "force yourself to" if you have bad hyperacusis, and I can tell you that in first person... personal experience.