I'm Going to a Psychiatrist: What Medications May Help Pain Hyperacusis?

Hello,

I'm a new member here. I'll shortly present myself first:

I'm 30 years old, I have had severe pain hyperacusis for 3-4 years now. I was exposed to loud noise at a party.

After that event, for the last 3-4 years, every time I have been exposed to sound, I had sharp stabbing pain in my ears. After every exposure I had a setback which made me more sensitive. Today my LDLs are somewhere between 10-30 dB (depends on the frequency, but no more than 30 ).

I'm currently not capable of leaving my flat. I have been indoors for more than 3 months and haven't passed the door line, not even once.

I have seen some ENTs and they told me to slowly expose myself to sound, with the assistance of audiologist. After meeting the audiologist and trying that, I realized that exposing myself doesn't help at all. EVERY exposure made it worse.

I saw Clomipramine being discussed on Tinnitus Talk and having helped some people - so I decided that I want to see a psychiatrist.

I'm asking: what medications have helped you? What medications MAY in theory help? Have you heard of anyone's pain hyperacusis being helped by any medications?

I'm at a phase where I'm willing to try ANYTHING.

Of course I will keep you guys posted about my experience with the medications I'd take, to exchange the information.

Thank you for reading this far. I sincerely appreciate any help with my condition.

I wish you good health and happy Easter

 

Did yor tinnitus or hyperacusis improve, stay the same or get worse in this time?

 

Hey Rick, I’m in the same boat. I got it really damn bad too. I’ve been homebound for 2 years. Medications are Russian roulette with this. They help some people, others they worsen. Some take Lyrica, Cymbalta, and other nerve pain meds. I take low dose Naltrexone and lots of CBD. It helps the lingering pain. I tried working with a psychiatrist in 2021, it did absolutely nothing. It was nice talking about it but if you have true pain hyperacusis, any mentality will not change it. Anybody who claims it does, does not have true pain hyperacusis. I would see a neurologist and see if he wants to work with you if he has any experience with this sort of thing but tbh, I live in my room and never leave. If there was anything else or any other way, I would have done it by now. It’s just luck of the draw and it seems most improve with silence.

Hang in there, you’re not alone.

 

Hi Rick, I’ve thought about this as well, but I’ve been afraid that meds will do more harm than good so I’ve never considered them. I wish I wasn’t too afraid to. But with how bad my hyperacusis is, I can’t take that chance.

It doesn’t hurt to at least see a neurologist though. Report back if you do.

 

I know this is not directly answering your question, but I have found this an interesting read. I'm not sure if it can apply for your case, just mentioning it in case this approach could help you.

 

Regarding the stabbing pain, it would be interesting to see what is showing up on Acoustic Reflex testing, though that's out of the question.

A muscle relaxer or Botox into the eardrum muscle may be an idea if it's a spasm from sound stimulation causing your issues.

 

Have you seen any improvement at all in the past 6 months?

 

If I’m in complete silence for months, I get a little pain relief, and my tolerance doesn’t go up much. I still live in a room, wear double protection, and am in pain most of the time.

 

Man, I have no idea how you can survive. I am in shambles with my severe-ish tinnitus (that's not even multi-tonal), and up to now mild hyperacusis (now maybe moderate, it just spiked for no obvious reason).

By the way, a month ago when I turned to God, I prayed for you, as I consider you the worst case I have read about on this forum. I am guessing God did not listen to me in your case, either.

 

I wish you all the best with your attempt at getting help. I was homebound and unable to talk / chew / scratch my head / listen to music, other peoples' voices /... for about 3/4 of a year. I wouldn't have been able to talk to a psychiatrist or anybody for that matter because my own voice, even as little as a hum, felt like somebody was putting out a cigarette butt in my ear.

I'm one of the lucky ones who got better after what felt like an eternity. The sensitivity is still there but I can do things again. Only to a certain point but compared to what life was like before, I'm not going to complain.

I agree with @Brian Newman that for somebody with severe pain hyperacusis, talking won't make much of a difference. Sometimes it's good to have somebody neutral to listen to your woes and offer some advice but don't expect too much. This condition is so rare that many ENTs don't know what to do with a patient who is suffering from it, so don't expect somebody trained in a totally different field to have the answers you are hoping for.

If it is medication you want to try, you've made the right decision because that is a psychiatrist's bread and butter. But make sure to listen to your body and start with very low doses in case something isn't working the way it is supposed to. Also don't let anybody talk you into "toughening up" and exposing yourself to noises that hurt you. I've read a couple of times that that's the kind of advice people suffering from hyperacusis are oftentimes given. If somebody suggests it to you, go and find somebody else. You wouldn't tell somebody with 3rd degree burns on their body to stand a little closer to the open flame either.

Just because a person suffering from hyperacusis can't present physical evidence of their suffering doesn't mean it's not very much real. In many ways you are on your own in this and have to become your own expert.

I wish you all the best!

 

Just because what you asked for didn't happen, doesn't mean God didn't listen. We have to try not to give up hope and try to trust that it's all part of a greater good that will be revealed to us in the end.

Pope Francis: Why does it seem like God doesn’t answer our prayers sometimes?