Is It Hyperacusis?

[Davideiceman]

Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm new here, so forgive me if I chose the wrong section =D I'm writing you as I need advice.

I have been suffering from tinnitus for one year. As time passed I got used to it, I can say that it's not disturbing me anymore. Nevertheless, I'm having some difficulties when I come into contact with acute sounds (especially the ones coming from electronic equipment).

When this happens, I experience different reactions. Sometimes my right ear starts hurting, sometimes it simply amplifies them.
This doesn't happen with the left ear (from the left I can barely sense these acute sounds, if not at all).

My question is: can it be a form of hyperacusis? I know that chronic tinnitus cannot be cured, but at least do I have any hope to heal this disease?

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Davideiceman
You might have hyperacusis . Are you listening to these sounds through headphones? Do you wear headphones at all? If you do have hyperacusis then it needs to be treated. It can get better by itself, or by using white noise generators under the guidance of a Hearing Therapist. It is best to be seen at ENT. Hyperacusis can be curable. I once had it very severe where if someone were to talk to me in a slightly raised voice my ears would hurt. My hyperacusis was cured many years ago.
Michael

 

[Davideiceman]

@Michael Leigh
First of all, thank you very much for your answer!
No, I never wear headphones. I heard these painful sounds in different situations (I'll leave you some examples):
- while watching tv sometimes I hear sudden acute sounds when music plays (they last just one second, then they stop);
- in front of the screen showing departures and arrivals at the airport or at the train station; these electronic devices make a sound that literally hurts my hear (the same happened to me yesterday in front of an electronic billboard at the supermarket);
- in front of my pc at work with my right ear I can hear the noise coming from the computer much louder than with my left hear.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Davideiceman

Pleased to hear that you don't wear headphones. I know you don't need this advice but don't listen to audio through them even at low volume. Your sensitivity to sound is a strange one.
However, no two people experience tinnitus or hyperaucusis (if that's what you have) the same. A good way to cure hyperacusis is using sound enrichment, as this can desensitize the auditory system. When you have time click on the link below and read some of the posts which you might find helpful. Particularly, answers to hyperacusis and habituation. If your symptoms persist I think you should be seen at ENT
All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/search/member?user_id=3134&content=thread

 

[Davideiceman]

@Michael Leigh
Thank you very much for your answer, very kind of you. Can I ask you one last thing? In your last post you told me that my best option is to be seen by a private ENT. I'm Italian, I have lived in Edinburgh since September 2014, last year as a student, now as a worker, and I visited my GP more than once. The fact is that I never really understood how the health system works here. Last year when I got tinnitus I kept asking if I could see a specialist, but I was replied that it's obligatory to have a referral by a GP (and I didn't get it).
Do you know if it is possible to meet an ENT by bypassing the GP? I'm willing to pay out of pocket and see a private ENT, I just don't know very well how things work in the UK.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Davideiceman David, I said it's best of you to be seen at ENT. I didn't mention a private ENT . You will get the best help and care going to an NHS hospital, trust me I know what I'm talking about. If you want to get a referral to ENT by your Dr then I'll tell you what to do in private message
Michael