Hyperacusis with No Tinnitus?

Always wondered if it's possible to have H without T and I'm not referring to Phonophobia/Misophonia here. This forum is full of people with T and no H but I've never heard from anyone that have "only" H with no T. Or if someone have been struggling with both and ended up having just the H. The opposite is quite common. I have however heard of people with a very moderate type of H with no T. One could argue if they had H at all but some other sort of general hypersensitivity to sound.

 

Yes. I saw people in the chat-hyperacusis.net forum with this situation. But imo, stay away from that forum. Too many freaks and depressive tone.

 

Hi folks! Guess this is cue for me to chime in for a second as I've been year long lurker in this site (mainly in research area). I haven't been diagnosed professionally but moderate sensitivity on higher frequencys is what I'm dealing for the last year. As i understand, my inner ear is exhausted, swelled, sounds make it work and it swells, causing me much pain. Theres no room inside the skull to swell. Theoretically-given enough rest+ mild sound therapy, will get me back on normal life. The swelling theory is what I've been told by doctor, haven't find anything on that in web.

The fact that T/ear fullness has always left me within 1-2 days, total of in 15 years of ignorantly abusing my ears is miracle itself, i say. I always guessed that ears almost fully recovered itself and i can go out or in the studio and do it all again! Oh the naive 90s. Now its time to pick the fruits of this modern life style lol

I have moderate hearing loss on both ears, so its only good to read that hearing related problems/research are taken seriously in this decade. At least i know what santa is going to bring my new born in some time in the future- hearing protection kit lol. Most peaceful christmas time!

 

As I said in another thread I had hyperacusis but didn't have tinnitus. Or if you're skeptical, it was habituation of perception.

Of course, it's different now.

 

What is/was your threshold like in regards to noise now NeoM? I mean, what type of noise do you find painful? Seems to me that almost everyone with H share mostly the same "pain noises" or trouble frequencies. Like kids screaming, metal or construction work, air pressure, kitchen wear etc.

 

When I said, it's different now, I meant that now tinnitus and hyperacusis are together. Where before it was separated by years.

I think the hyperacusis has gotten better. I wouldn't describe it as "pain" but more like discomfort. But yeah, I would say I have the typical hyperacusis sounds that others get discomfort from, e.g. silverware clanging, some stiff paper ruffling, the intercom systems at grocery stores, and some other stuff.

I went to a mall for Christmas shopping and it didn't bother me at all. However, at the grocery store a little kid screaming bothered me and the intercom system at some points.

I read that hyperacusis can take up to 24 weeks to go away by itself. I considered it to be the worst the day after Thanksgiving.

 

I never feel actual pain in my "hyperacusis". Infact I think my hyperacusis is just anxiety based, because when I've been out drinking and come home, it is COMPLETELY gone. I don't need to even drink, just being out and relaxed when I come home fixes it completely. It is worst in the mornings.

 

There is a HUGE correlation between anxiety levels and hyperacusis in my opinion. If you can get your anxiety under control, the hyperacusis will fade with time.

 

Today it was raining and as I was walking along the road I heard the annoying sound of tires slamming against the wet tarmac. Almost like a million fish was frying in a huge pan. I'm getting so sick of this H terror, I've been wearing my white noise generators all the time since I got them but the H seems so stubborn. To control stress is close to impossible. I also believe that stress and anxiety is poison for H, much as it is for T but I can't seem to crack the code. Wish I was like them Cheech & Chong dudes, always "chilli'n" with no care in the world, but it's hard. I'm not a pot smoking hippie with no problems in the world. My brain is going on full throttle all the time although it can look like I'm in control and on top of things. Whenever I'm caught by surprise by some annoying noise it's like a lightning or electric currency is shooting trough my body at an amazing speed, it really is as physical sensation.

Have you ever had one of those long sleepless nights when you were out partying and didn't stop for like 30 hours? If memory serves me right I recall some slight similarities to H when I walked home from the party. I guess when the body is stressed out due to lack of sleep it reacts somewhat hypersensitive to noise, so stress is obviously a key factor here as well. I hope you guys are right about stress being the number one instigator, it gives me some hope for the future cause I don't know how long I can bare struggling with both T&H. I need to get rid of at least one of them.

 

I don't feel pain either really. It's more like my ears are contracting, if that makes sense. Is that what you feel?

I've read that it's not unusual for people with hyperacusis to have some misophonia. I've noticed that sometimes before sounds happen I tend to brace for them. That's probably a bad thing to do because it pretty much is reinforcing misophonia or hyperacusis.

Are you doing TRT or anything? Or did an audiologist just give you sound generators and instructions to wear them?

 

Was just told to wear them, I go back for a LDL test every month.

 

I have been reading so many different experiences about H that I'm not sure what I can expect in my particular case. I choose to be hopeful with the one that is "....hyperacusis can take up to 24 weeks to go away by itself."

At onset, it took just over a month before I got my sound generators. I found immediate results. It is no longer very difficult to be out in public. Two different days I did not use them (bad me!!) and both days I had difficult days, ending with stress headaches.

I characterize my H as being w/o pain. I've read so many people say they experience pain. My "pain" is that everything appears to be so loud that it eventually wears me out and I'm constantly stressed. On a FB support page, this woman chastized me for a) wearing cheap ear plugs to block out SOME sounds, and b) saying I have H w/o pain when headaches are clearly pain. I disagree with both of her criticisms.

a) the plugs were not for "protection", they were for dulling the amount of sound entering so I could be comfortable in a situation where I was not w/o some amount being blocked. Foam ones blocked too much for that particular situation. [though I do have foam ones for noisier situations, when needed.] My goal was to be comfortable at the same time as allowing sound in. Mission accomplished, IMO. I don't use them often, but will on occasion. She asked him how I *know* the sound isn't doing damage to my hearing. I think most people would know that if it's just a typical enviornment, it's not going to be harmful. and if my H isn't increased, that's an indication as well.

b) stress headaches, which I get all the time, and long before I ever had H, aren't the same as "ear pain". I still categorize it as H w/o pain.

I also recognize not everyone has the same H.

anyway, back to my point.... I'm hoping I am in the category of H going away, but I don't know if I am or not. I guess nobody knows until they are at that finish line. I'm showing tremendous progress in my anxiety and wanting to hide in my room for the rest of my life. It's only been 2.5 weeks since getting the SGs, so too early to tell. I still have the loud sound like the wind is blowing, and oftentimes I hear a whistling echo which is really annoying, but the anxiety is much, much reduced.

[I guess I like to talk! look at how long my post is! lol]

@Per, my audiologist didn't say much about instructions either. She did say it's not about how loud you can get the volume, so just set it and forget it. She said to set it first thing in the morning when it's quiet. I did fiddle with them the first couple of days, but pretty much got over that. She also said to give yourself a break part way thru the day if you need to. I should have done that instead of fiddled, I suppose. At any rate, what I'm doing seems to be working, and I go back next week for a followup and will ask her for more instructions. My biggest question: am I wearing them too much? is there such a thing as over-using them??

and the burning question: will the H ever go away! (I don't expect an answer to that!)

 

Good to hear about your progress SueR. I've been wearing mine as many hours a day that I can, meaning from morning to bedtime. Only breaks are if I need to build up a sweat, like in working out. My audiologist said something about 9 hours a day, but I don't think theres no such thing as too long or too much. When it comes to duration in general she just said that some wear them for only two-three months but other people a year, I think I'm looking at closer to a year cause my last LDL test showed just very moderate improvements and I've been wearing them since November. But anywho, I guess the best censor is how I feel! And I guess there's a large portion of habituating with H as it is with T. When being hypersensitive for a long time I guess you will get a little habituated by time and develop "elephant skin". That makes it difficult to know if its the white noise generators that is doing the job or simply time itself.

Many people have shared that their H has disappeared, the only person that I have actually met in person that has T said he used to have H as well, he still has the T but with no H. He got it all from acoustic trauma in his opinion, he's a guitarist.

 

[quote=" Foam ones blocked too much for that particular situation. [/quote]

Foam ones are useful when you are in a plane or such, i'll suggest alpine musician plugs. Really useful for example family/friend partys where lots of dogs/children are present. They keep you safe and have taken a lot of misophonia away from me(i.e. i have calm feeling, cause if i use strongest filter, ca-20db, i know that no scream can't go that much above 85db), also lets you talk to people as your understanding of speech is neat.

 

"...best censor is how [you] feel!" - absolutely! which is why I think I'm making tremendous progress.

With my LDL, I pressed that button when I could absolutely not take it anymore. I felt uncomfortable about the sound level before I pressed, but that was not the instructions I was given. Still, I think my H is probably mild compared to others, even though I couldn't stand being even in my office, or the quiet of my home w/o small noises making me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.

I also don't feel like I got this from any acoustic trauma. I was sneezing a lot in my office, and I'm a loud sneezer... very loud for a small person. (like size has anything to do with it... lol)

I was in my office and my ear started to "flutter" and next thing I know the printer was annoying the heck out of me, etc. etc. That's it. No concert. No loud movie theater...

which makes me think, since I haven't experienced a particular trauma, maybe, just maybe, this will go away completely.... not just the negative reaction to noises.

 

rainman, I want to make sure I am understanding you properly, as I plan to take a trip in April! (going to the Amazon!!)

foam ones are good for airplane and alpine musicians plugs are good for parties?
I do want better solutions if I am going to participate in more social activities.

 

One thing I noticed is that the hyperacusis is always worse in the morning, is that the same for anyone else?

I still don't understand it. I had a couple good days where it didn't bother me at all really and today it seems to be worse. However, I didn't get much sleep last night though. I also think my ears switched where the right one seems to be more bothersome than the left.

@Per I was wondering about TRT because in this book, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607611449/?tag=tinntalk-20 , I managed to get states that, "On the positive side, TRT is very effective for treatment of both hyperacusis and misophonia, and it is possible to achieve a cure in most patients, which means total elimination of hyperacusis and misophonia. Another positive aspect is that after successful treatment of misophonia, the tensor tympani syndrome disappears as well, and that tinnitus, if still bothersome, typically also improves."

In case you're wondering what tensor tympani syndrome is, "Last, but not least, misophonia tends to trigger the tensor tympani syndrome (fullness in the ears, pain, feeling of pulsation, vestibular problems, headaches, etc.) [60], which may become
a significant, or even a dominant problem."

Another point emphasizes the importance of treating hyperacusis before tinnitus, "Without adequate treatment of decreased sound tolerance, and particularly misophonia, the effectiveness of tinnitus treatment becomes substantially decreased."

I also found this, "A positive diagnosis of hyperacusis requires that the average LDL is less than about 90 dB. A low value of the LDL does not prove the presence of hyperacusis, however, because a low value of LDLs may be due to misophonia. The behavioral reactions evoked by hyperacusis and misophonia are identical, thus they cannot be used for differentiation either."

@SueR I would be careful with support groups. In some cases they can make you feel worse about your condition. I think if you can control your anxiety and stress about it and continue to wear your sound generators you'll be fine. I wish I could get sound generators because I read they are the best thing to use for sound therapy.

 

Misophonia and hyperacusis is classified very differently, the first being a purely psychological phenomena. H is much more related to T and other yet unknown conditions. A person with severe Misophonia can't even tolerate whispers. Yes, treating H before T is what most clinics do. That's what my audiologist said as well.

"1) Hyperacusis - when subject reacts negatively to all "louder sounds" and 2) Phonophobia - when subjectis "afraid of specific sound or one's own voice."

http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/misophoniaphonophobia/default.asp

 

I didn't at first have pain but as my anxiety escalated so did my TTTS symptoms and now I have pain daily..and worsening..I hope I can get it under control. I developed worse anxiety after being told normal sounds can hurt me or make me worse..it's tough to know who is right. It's a tough condition period.

 

Normal sounds cannot hurt you. Call up any audiologist that's knowledgeable about hyperacusis and they will repeat the same thing. Consciously you have to help improve this subconscious process by knowing and affirming that everyday sounds are not hurting you or damaging you.