Pain Hyperacusis Made Worse by Obsessing Over It?

Hi all,

Firstly I firmly believe that hyperacusis is a physical condition, particularly the pain kind, and that it should be treated as an injury and not as a purely psychological thing. However I have noticed that I find that when I am thinking about hyperacusis I get more of the burning symptoms and pains.

As an example, I had certain H symptoms that improved when I took the decision not to go on forums for a week and do other stuff. Just menial things like watching TV, baking and doing exercise. I actually had a measure for this when I used my sewing machine (I’m making a quilt!) - before it would cause me some burning straight away but then it completely went away after that week.

But one thing led to another, I got some bad anxiety and read some articles about people with hyperacusis so severe they can barely leave the house. The next day I woke up and felt so anxious and little noises like rustling and stuff started bothering my ears again. I watched a movie to take my mind off things and it got a bit better again. I think this is quite bizarre, but it does seem being anxious and over obsessive exacerbates symptoms significantly and maybe even cause a setback, at least in my case. Does anyone else agree/have this be the case for them? If so it gives me great hope that controlling anxiety and hypervigilance may greatly improve symptoms overall, given enough time. However, I understand that this is not the case for everyone.

 

I have had hyperacusis for a long long time... I think it is best not to think too much about it. However, the world will remind you that hyperacusis is there. Let me explain this. We cannot switch off our ears, and with severe hyperacusis sound will cut through your ears (even with earplugs and earmuffs) like a knife on butter. So it is sound that reminds us of hyperacusis, and not our attitude towards it.

A good strategy is to keep yourself entertained doing things you like provided there is not a risk of worsening... this is, activities that do not involve being around loud sound.

 

@SummerDreamer

You wrote:

I actually had a measure for this when I used my sewing machine (I’m making a quilt!) - before it would cause me some burning straight away but then it completely went away after that week.

I have pain hyperacusis and have been afraid to try my sewing machine (sewing is one of my passions).
It sounds like you experienced pain when using the sewing machine.
Did you continue anyway? Or, did you stop as soon as you felt pain and built up to it over several days?
Did you use protection (ear plugs or ear muffs?)
I'm trying to find a way to get back to doing something I love without making my hyperacusis worse.

I would love to see a photo of your quilt when you finish it.

 

I pretty much agree with everything you said. There might be a correlation between increased symptoms and obsessing about it, but my best days have been the ones with many distractions where I barely think about the H. It's not linear, but overall I have been noticing gradual improvement since about 3 weeks after my initial onset (which was a month ago).

 

Lucky. So it’s minor and only loudness I’m assuming? 2 months into pain hyperacusis and it’s only been getting worse.

 

My H is certainly milder than most of the people here, but I do get pain (mostly burning) and fullness. In fact, it was constant pain for about a month until recently. It's obviously way too soon to tell if my improvement is just a blip or is indeed a trend toward more lasting recovery. My ears still feel fragile and irritated, but it's a million times better than constant pain.

 

Hey Linda, so when I was feeling the pain I did continue to use it, because my pain was kinda weird in that it would manifest as a 'stabbing' mostly from short sharp sounds or as an initial pain from the sudden sound, and then it kinda went away after being continually exposed to the sound, almost as if my brain was like 'oh, actually this sound isn't harmful!' but i know that for some people they might get burning from continued sound exposure.

What is your pain like?

I would take it easy and if it's causing you pain to do the things you love, just pop some earplugs in, i think its so important to not restrict yourself on your hobbies. Because there's definitely a psychological component to hyperacusis even if it's not the whole story. What do you like to do? I'm sure there's a way round it

I only used earplugs when going into town and the roads were noisy, but I don't use them at all now (apart from really noisy situations.)

And of course I'll share a photo of it with you when it's done! (I've been a bit busy with other things recently but will finish it at some point haha)

X

 

@SummerDreamer

Thanks for the info. I get a lot of burning pain top/back of head (even in silence).

I sure miss it... my sewing room is my "happy place'. Sometimes I go there and just play with fabrics.

I try not to overprotect in the house but have to for certain sounds and when I'm outside, I have to wear hearing protection.

I LOVE any kind of sewing and quilting but my favorites are: art quilts, applique, home decor, fashion accessories... tote bags, scarves, capes etc.

Happy quilting!

 

In my case I feel that it's a mix of both physical and psychological. I think any physical injury is going to hurt more if you think more about it. This is especially true with muscle and nerve injuries because the muscles tense up as your emotions tense up and we all know stress plays a role in how nerves behave. So in my case, and for many whose H involves the middle ear muscles, I think it's a bit of both. If Im in silence and thinking about it, it will get worse because my ears are tensing to it. But if Im exposed to sounds, the damage to the muscles or ear is still going to tense up even if Im in the best mood.

I see these as two completely different types of triggers that can lead to the same exact pain. My pain is caused by muscle tension. That I'm 100% sure about. As to whether it's also innervating some nerves or there's nerve damage involved, not sure, but I can buy that.

I have the burning delayed type of pain that lasts for hours/days. Here on most days. There are times where I feel I'm beating it by combatting the psychological part of it, but as Juan said, the physical side is still there to remind me to stay in my place. I just wonder if there's ways to manage and live a functional life by working it around the physical part in the meantime while improving the mental part.