Is a Full Recovery Possible from Extremely Mild Pain Hyperacusis?

I've only had pain twice (not counting the initial loudness of my white noise machine before I turned it down when turning it on). Once from a kid screaming outside and once from someone shouting next to me, both hurt only slightly.

I was able to go through an MRI with ear plugs partially in (they kind of fell out) without any pain or fullness, although the fullness has been a bit more common afterwards.

I've never experienced what people would call a setback, I mainly just get a thudding feeling/movement in my ear in response to high pitched noise. This isn't because I have no damage but because I've been so careful with healing.

There was a time when I'd feel slight pain from my white noise machine at 50 dB but only until I turned it down lower; now I can tolerate it perfectly fine.

So is my expectation for a "full" recovery possible? Maybe?

 

You can definitely recover to the point of living a full and normal life, however it seems that many people with mild hyperacusis who have a noise trauma later develop more serious hyperacusis.

It's good that you have not had any setbacks but I would personally from this point on err on the side of protection when around loud noise just in case so that you can continue living a normal life.

 

Yes @sm20, you could fully recover. But it might take you a long time to get there... but it's possible: YES!

How long have you had it for?

 

To explain why the white noise at 50 dB hurt but the MRI didn't, I only started using white noise after the MRI. Maybe the MRI did set me back some but during it there was still no pain.

 

Hearing damage can be cumulative so that’s very possible it set you back.

When you say you had pain, can you say what kind of pain? Mainly what does it feel like (stabbing, burning, etc) and where is it (only in the ear or does it spread)?

 

@MindOverMatter, my tinnitus has been reactive since December after some noise exposure. The thudding movement has been since February and the slight pain started in March sometime after the MRI.

@Born To Slay, the pain is sharp. I do feel heat in my ears every once in a while but it doesn't hurt and doesn't seem in response to sound. I do have lots of eye pain but I'm pretty sure it's a separate issue which I've been looking into since November before the hyperacusis. It starts when it's silent and a low pitched tinnitus kicks in.

 

It’s possible it’s cumulative but like I was telling @FGG in another thread, my hyperacusis/sensitivity reacts similarly. I think the MRI is loud but I believe it’s the pitch or frequency that’s causing your issue. I can be in a loud factory with no real issue but my ears react when hearing a speaker phone. I would bet that the high pitch of the white noise is what’s causing your hyperacusis and not so much the noise from the MRI.

 

It seems likely to me that your issue is cochlear only rather than acoustic shock like (which includes the trigeminal nerve). I recommend continuing to stay in silence and that’s your best shot.