My Tinnitus Is Almost Gone After 3 Years: It's Now a Faint Ringing — No Longer Hyperacusis Either

You have had tinnitus since 2004. How are you now? Is there any improvement in your tinnitus?

 

This success story is very reassuring. I have tinnitus and pain hyperacusis as well and I feel such dread and doom. Especially with the prognosis of hyperacusis.

I am interested in what your audiogram looks like... where your hearing loss is.

Thank you.

 

I've had mild, manageable tinnitus (2-4/10) for 8 years and I can tell you that some years were definitely better than others; most of 2020 was actually very quiet for me, where as 2017-2018 I was freaking out a lot. Some of that was habituation or lack thereof, but sometimes it was genuinely quieter. Sadly I've been dealing with a pretty horrific spike for the last 3 months, and I'm really hoping it fades soon. Hopefully what @Vii said regarding age is true because I'm only 30 which I'm hoping is still considered broadly young.

 

I am sorry that has happened to you!

Has that spike faded compared to how it was two years ago? Also, do you know what might have caused it? What was the loudest noise you got exposed to during the year before the onset of your spike?

 

Thanks Bill. It's still a mystery. Onset of the spike happened all inside of an hour, when I tried to stifle a panic attack during an hour-long phone call with work.

When I got off the phone, I noticed that my tinnitus had tripled in volume, with some new sounds added, that have since faded. The only noise exposure was from the day before--a loud, deaf cat screeching right next to me. We have a deaf cat and they're about 5x louder than normal cats, and ours likes to fight with the feral cats through the window. I was hit with a shrill ~90dB screech about 7-feet away. It touched my hyperacusis, which is normally only touched by plates and dishes. The weird part is that there was a 30 hour delay. I've been assured by an audiologist that it's usually within the first 24 hours that something like this would happen. The only other explanation is stress. I'm just hoping it fades with time, and hoping age 30 is still young enough to have some healing capacity.

 

Normally the spikes due to noise that far away are temporary...

It's great that you had experienced some improvement, with the new sounds fading.

Have you experienced any reduction in the volume, or change in pitch?

 

I have hyperacusis also and am wearing ear protection around the house. Kids are noisy, they shout, they drop things ALL THE TIME, they slam doors. The thing is, I have noticed lately that I am actually becoming phonophobic. I am jumping at shadows and bracing myself for noise that doesn't happen. I need to maybe NOT protect so much. I don't know. Such a fine line.

 

@Vii, if you are still around, was time just your healer or did you have a strategy? What do you think helped the tinnitus and/or hyperacusis? Did they both improve at the same time in line with each other?

 

You’re at the point I was when I decided I just had to take control. It’s very hard to explain but the more I started concentrating on the daily goings on around me that were important, and let go of the what if’s about my ears that were out of my control the more normality I gained back. I’m not saying for one minute that hearing is not important but I think tinnitus is similar to a lot of injuries in that if you don’t leave a scab alone it will never heal. There’s a lot of brain power that goes into tinnitus.

Take care
S x

 

There have been fewer good signs that I'd hoped for, although two days ago things were very quiet. Like almost livingly quiet, but that only lasted until about 5pm. I guess I have to keep protecting my ears and avoiding stress? I did a poor job of that in the beginning.

 

That's a great sign - it means it Can get better. Eventually you will get there.

Yes!

 

Hi AliasM.

My audiogram was near perfect. With a small loss around 6-7 kHz in one ear. My audiologist said I had near perfect hearing for a 40-year-old. Which was soul crushing considering how much pain I was in. The damage is outside the range of an audiogram which only measures from 100 Hz to 8 kHz. Likely my damage was around 12-15 kHz, which is what my tinnitus sounds like.

If your tinnitus was noise induced, you have a shot at a decent recovery like mine.

Although I still hear it to this day... at least I’m no longer suffering as badly as the first 2.5 years.

When the hyperacusis starts to dissipate, you know you’re one step to nirvana as that indicates healing is progressing. That took 18 months for me. Might be less for you if you are younger.

Lastly the most important thing you can do is stay healthy. Start eating only the best foods and avoid alcohol, drugs and coffee. I just recently quit coffee and that helps reduce anxiety, which can cause tinnitus to seem more aggravating even though caffeine is likely not amplifying the tinnitus.

It’s a wake up call for all aspects of your health and habits. I can’t emphasize that enough. It’s a new chapter of life that will teach you new ways of existing in this world of constant temptation.

 

Thank you for your reply.

Yes I am eating better now than I ever have. Very low salt, zero caffeine, and have not once eaten fast food since mid December. I haven't seen any change for the better in my tinnitus but as mentioned, your experience gives me hope. I have lost 16 kg in 3 months, but that is due to anxiety and low appetite. It is still weight I needed to lose though.

My hyperacusis is a work in progress. I've had improvements in my right ear simultaneously with worsening of my left ear. I can't work that out!

Thanks again and all the best to you.

 

Well put, I couldn't agree with you more.

 

How many months has it been since your onset?

My first 18 months were uniform and constant. In some respects it got progressively worse as I struggled to accept the new normal. It was the most painful event of my life hands down. The turning point was around month 20 where I occasionally started doing dishes without my over-the-ear protection. It still hurt to hear dishes clang but it seemed more tolerable. Gradually I became less dependent on earplugs and by month 24-28 the hyperacusis had almost completely vanished.

The tinnitus still lingers on but at a much lower volume and is far less aggressively chaotic than at onset. So for me that is a big win overall. The mild hiss is still annoying but it seems to get better every month.

I never imagined I would be claiming victory but it eventually came to pass. It’s still a major part of my life especially considering my fear of loud sounds and avoidance of social settings but I’m now able to function normally without the fear of spontaneous bursts of sound from motorcycles, sirens or babies. I still plug my ears at those moments however to prevent any spikes.

 

@Vii, was your tinnitus in your ear, or in your head, or both?

If the in your head question does not make sense: My tinnitus is not really focused in one particular ear, but it feels like it is in the back of my head.

 

You say your tinnitus would vanish in 2 days when you were in your 20s.

I'm 19 and I have tinnitus so bad it's melting my brain. No sign of improvement.

 

@Vii, may I ask if your tinnitus is bilateral or unilateral, and do you hear it in your ears or your head?

And is it somatic, i.e. does it spike if you clench your teeth?

Thank you very much!

 

Doesn't most people's tinnitus spike upon clenching teeth?

 

How does that "back of your head" tinnitus sound? Is it a like a drone or low frequency hum or has it got a higher pitch?

 

How's the hyperacusis? I too have a very loud family. I find that if I can have some quiet time each day it helps. Just for now, can you spend some time in your room or have them go to a family member's house after school? If you can build in some breaks from the noise, it will help.

Best to you,
twa

 

Thank you. I have had to put my 2 year old son into full time day care which kills me. I wanted to do all the new mother things with him. Last year I couldn't because everything was shut down for COVID-19, and now this in 2021. Breaks my heart! I think my hyperacusis is improving though. My right ear has pain hyperacusis but I am able to tolerate things now that I couldn't before, like the microwave buttons and the car indicator. My left ear is not pain hyperacusis, but it thumps, and echos to noise, like it goes metallic sounding, even to my own voice. I think it might be getting ever so slightly better. I had a major set back with it in March after microsuction though and it is worse now than it was before that. Small progress but certainly progress I think on both sides with the hyperacusis. It doesn't have to be loud noise, just any noise. In fact, 2 spoons touching, or lid going onto a glass jar is far worse than a door slamming. It is the tinnitus though that is killing me the most. Multi-tonal noises coming from both ears and all lobes of my brain.

I am throwing so much money at it to settle - massage, acupuncture, psychotherapy, supplements etc. No actual improvements yet.

 

I've had the acid feeling in my ear. I didn't know what that was.

 

Seeing as this is such an active thread, I'd like to post a small update:

I'm 15 months in now, and my hyperacusis is still getting better. It's hard to measure by how much it has improved, but I've reached a point where I can now endure my 1.5-year-old son's tantrum shrieks without my ears getting absolutely shredded. It used to feel like my eardrums were getting stabbed with knives, now it's more of a general discomfort. Nonetheless, I keep a pair of headphones handy on every floor.

Also, I recently did some vacuuming without wearing headphones.

Unfortunately, I (still) haven't noticed any improvement tinnitus-wise.

 

@Fields, reading your post, it gives me some hope.

Could you tell us what you did specifically to get to where you are now? Did you take any meds? What was your routine, i.e. overprotecting hearing or not?

Being able to vacuum without ear protection on is a dream. For me that is a Win. Currently I have to let someone else vacuum in the house and even then I have to be in the garden with earmuffs on. Hope you get even better.

 

Of course

During the first 8 months or so, I barely noticed any improvement. There were several things I tried throughout this period. Here's what definitely didn't work for me.

• Apple cider vinegar with "the mother"
• Ginkgo Biloba
• Lion's Mane

There were some other things I tried that supposedly alleviate tinnitus/hyperacusis, but I can't recall them right now. After having given up on these kind of supplements, I tried some lifestyle changes:

• I started meditating
• I stopped drinking coffee and alcohol
• I cut back on sugar and unhealthy food in general
• I started working out more

None of these things did much for my tinnitus, but after a few months of this (around 10 months in) I noticed that my mental state of mind started to improve. After that, I also felt that my hyperacusis was starting to improve. I think that the most important thing here is that I was starting to break free from my negative/spiralling mindset. This way, it also became easier to meditate and work out more.

Honestly, as far as hyperacusis is concerned, I believe time and lots of rest were the biggest contributors. During the early stages, I would become crippled with anxiety at the thought of loud noises and also had a very hard time dealing with regular (safe) volumes. Nevertheless, slowly but surely, I started to build up my tolerance against sound/noise again. It started with softly listening to music—and recently progressed to vacuuming without a headset.

I actually also drilled several holes in a concrete wall this week. However, to be safe, I was wearing both my earplugs and headphones. Afterwards my ears felt slightly painful, but I think this was due to stress rather than the noise. Just in case, I also purchased a fresh set of drillbits, so the drill went through the wall like a hot knife through butter.

Nevertheless, I always kept a pair of headphones close when at home and ordered a pair of bespoke earplugs for outside—and I still keep these near at all times. Whenever I feel a sound might be too loud, or when I'm headed somewhere noisy, I make sure to protect my ears.

To summarize, here's a brief timeline regarding my struggle with hyperacusis:

• 0 - 8 months: various supplements -> no improvement
• 6 - 8 months: lifestyle changes -> minor improvement
• 8 - 10 months: slowly building up tolerance against sound again -> additional minor improvements
• 10 - 15 months: building up additional tolerance and more exercise -> continued improvement

All in all, I believe my hyperacusis has currently been reduced by 60-75%. I believe it will continue to get better over the coming months—possibly until it's completely gone.

Hope this helps, @Bimmerboy!

 

No reason to push it. The hearing protection needs to be consistent. Vacuums are loud, and wish I knew earlier what I now know. My tinnitus is much better, bit would not use my vacuum without both earplugs and ear muffs. I am glad I can do these tasks safely, but will always have a healthy respect for noise induced tinnitus and what it can do.

 

@Fields, is your hyperacusis of the pain or loudness type?

Thanks for posting this info. It gives us hope.

 

Both. The pain has mostly subsided now, though.

As for the vacuum cleaner, perhaps it's worth mentioning that I can control the power output on it. Medium output = less noisy.

I also forgot to mention 1 supplement that did work for me: Magnesium citrate. It helps me calm down before I go to sleep.

 

@Fields, are you able to listen to music and watch TV?