Is This Hyperacusis or Reactive Tinnitus? Help!

I’m having a bad time with my tinnitus at the moment and it has changed in a very alarming way.

I will explain - a couple of weeks ago I went to my hearing clinic and was told that hearing aids would benefit me, my ears were checked and was told that my right ear was blocked.

I said I don’t want microsuction or ear syringing so I was told to use sodium bicarbonate ear drops to melt the wax away. I was a bit nervous about using any drops because in the past I’ve had water and olive oil trapped in my ear which popped and banged and made my tinnitus worse but after a couple of days I thought I’d give it a go.

Just before going to bed I put some drops in my ear, woke up the next morning to ear popping and banging. GREAT! Went to work and couldn’t really hear all day which also made my tinnitus louder.

Again at bed time put some more drops in my ear hoping it’s going to clear it eventually. I carried on for five days but had to stop I just couldn’t put with the head in a barrel feeling, popping and banging, with also my tinnitus screaming.

It’s been about five days since I stopped putting the drops in my ear.

My head in a barrel feeling has reduced, the popping and banging has stopped, but my tinnitus is worse and just to rub salt in the wound my tinnitus has become reactive to the slightest sound.

It just ramps up so loud. I also have a new rumbling humming sound that’s driving me mad.

I broke down Friday in front of my partner. I was shaking. I just felt overcome by it. I cannot watch telly or listen to the radio without it ramping up to a unbelievable level.

Even talking is doing the same. It’s making me ill. I’ve also been drinking a lot just to block it out but can’t keep that up.

I feel I have to stop working as I’m a mess.

Is this reactive tinnitus/hyperacusis?

My ear still feels dull and slightly blocked.

I’m sorry for the rambling. I’m just desperate for anything that may help. I’m not in a good place. Yet again something I hoped would help me has made my tinnitus worse.

 

Reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis are not the same thing, even if tinnitus and "hyperacusis" share pathologies they are not exactly the same experience one is having.

This is because hyperacusis is a loose term to describe both pain from noise and heightened volume of noise.

If one hyperacusis sufferer says his ears burn, the second says things sound too loud, and the third experiences both and all of them have tinnitus I'm not going to deny the problems are connected pathologically as subtypes but no one should say reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis is exactly the same thing.

 

Sounds like reactive tinnitus to me. You're not experiencing pain, sounds are not getting louder. Just your tinnitus is getting louder due to sounds. This is what I go thru and why I wear hearing protection when out and avoid speakers completely. It prevents all the constant spiking and is a lot less stressful.

 

Is it hyperacusis then?

 

No, reactive tinnitus isn't hyperacusis.

Do you experience pain, numbness or ear fullness from noise?

Do certain frequencies sound abnormally loud?

 

Sorry that reply is for the first response.

The longer I allow a sound into my ears thelouder it gets. If I just sit in a quiet room it drops to manageable level. Do you think it will go away? I’m a HGV driver, 12 hours in the cab yesterday, I was ready to die even with earplugs in :-/

 

No pain. I’ve had fullness but that was from the ear drops, but I have new tinnitus tones now, a high-pitched electronic tone and low hum that I swear I can feel as well, unbelievable!!

 

If you have a lot of sensitivity you will feel sound through the earplugs due to conduction. It is like talking with earplugs on, or chewing something crunchy with earplugs. Driving with earplugs is ok only if driving without them feels much worse, but it is not an ideal solution, specially if you have to use earplugs for 12 hours straight. It is good to take breaks and remove the earplugs for a while.

Also, wax can be removed manually with a tool ENTs have. It is like a metallic bud, no water, no drops, no syringing. And they can look at your ear to make sure they dont perforate your eardrum.

 

I just bought a book online from the Centre for Hearing Loss. The author, Neil Bauman states that tinnitus that reacts to sound is NOT hyperacusis, but a person with true hyperacusis feels pain/discomfort from ALL sounds.

However in a response to a question I left in his forum he suggests that reactive tinnitus is treated in much the same way as hyperacusis, which is basically sound exposure and addressing the negative associations with certain sounds.

So, if I stop worrying about plates clanging, road noise etc and allow myself to be exposed to these 'everyday' sounds can I assume I will not go on to develop hyperacusis, but I will also reduce/eliminate my somewhat reactive tinnitus?