Onset of Loudness Hyperacusis After Stopping Bupropion and It's Getting Worse Quickly

Hi there. I've been experiencing loudness hyperacusis for about a month and it's quickly gotten worse, freaking out a bit.

I'll start by giving all the context. On the 13th October I increased my dose of Bupropion from 150 mg to 300 mg. I started experiencing symptoms of visual snow syndrome (which I'm still experiencing, and which can be accompanied by tinnitus and noise sensitivity). A bit over a week later, after stopping Bupropion, I started noticing some sound sensitivity. I have severe ME/CFS and am bedbound so don't encounter any loud noise or much sound in general in my life. For a couple weeks I didn't think about it a whole lot, just kept the volume low when watching videos on my phone, and noticed that some sounds like a bag crumpling or a pill jar shaking caused discomfort.

A couple weeks later (two weeks ago now) in the evening I decided to listen to music a bit louder. I'm not talking through headphones or blasting it on speakers, just at half volume on my phone speaker, for a few minutes. I quickly noticed discomfort and stopped. The next day I noticed I was much more sensitive to sound. I could only tolerate very low volume on my phone, and as I live in the front room of a residential street with a fair bit of traffic, I noticed loud cars passing outside causing discomfort. Sounds of talking caused discomfort as well as other little sounds in my environment. I did some reading and realised this is hyperacusis. I started wearing ear plugs and soon sometimes earmuffs.

Over the last two weeks it's gotten worse and worse. I continued to use an electric toothbrush for several days which I think may have contributed. It's gotten to the point where I need to use protection constantly as cars passing can cause a lot of discomfort. My own voice is very loud and triggers discomfort as does the sound of eating crunchy food, and the sound of my dad who I live with opening and closing the front door. I can't tolerate sound from my phone at any volume.

It seems like severe loudness hyperacusis. Minor noises are very loud and cause a lot of discomfort, and sometimes a sense that my eardrum is fluttering, but I wouldn't say it causes pain. I also have very very mild tinnitus, like 1 out of 10. I'm not sure what to do as I've seen that it's not advised to use constant protection but the sound of passing cars seems to exacerbate things and I'm stuck in this room due to my ME/CFS. I'm freaked out and confused that this could deteriorate so quickly without any particularly loud sound triggers.

Does anyone here have any advice or wisdom to share? Would really appreciate it. Thank you.

EDIT:

Sounds are causing some pain in my ears now.

 

That sounds like the onset of pain hyperacusis and the controversial "reactive tinnitus."

You could benefit from hyperacusis desensitisation. There is plenty of advice on this forum.

Anything that aggravates or causes you pain needs to be reduced or taken away for now.

In the meantime, eating softer foods and taking more time over a meal may help reduce your reactivity.

Also, stop using an electric toothbrush and take your time brushing your teeth.

 

The things you have described appears to be hyperacusis. This condition is usually caused by noise trauma to the auditory system, brought on by listening to audio through headphones, earbuds, headsets or AirPods at too high a volume, or using them for long durations without giving the ears sufficient rest. Other type of exposure to loud noise can cause hyperacusis too.

Your hyperacusis could have been made worse by the Bupropion, hopefully this will be temporary. Hyperacusis usually accompanies noise-induced tinnitus. A person might not develop hyperacusis at the same time as the onset of tinnitus - it has been known to appear some weeks or even a few months after the onset of noise-induced tinnitus. I believe the underlying cause of your hyperacusis is noise trauma, that was probably lying dormant and was only a matter of time until it manifested itself.

There are various ways noise induced tinnitus with or without hyperacusis can be treated. Please click on the links below and read my posts. Go to my started threads and read: Hyperacusis, As I See It, Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? Tinnitus and The Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset, The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Thanks for responding!

That sounds like good advice. I stopped electric toothbrush about a week ago and stopped eating super crunchy foods. Trying to find the balance of the level of sound I can tolerate without any aggravation, once I'm there I'll look into desensitisation.

 

Thanks for responding! The tinnitus is definitely the lesser problem at the moment, I'm finding it pretty tolerable. Interesting that you think it's still noise-induced hyperacusis. In recent months I've not been listening to music above very low volume as I've been bedbound so if it's a response to loudness it's quite delayed... although I did attend and play a lot of gigs in the past.

 

Just give yourself time and hope for remission. That's all you can do. Cut absolutely everything out that makes you even the least bit uncomfortable, and don't do all this "blast your ears with pink noise to desensitize your hyperacusis" crap. Only time and being careful can help you. Good luck.