Road to Recovery from Loudness and Pain Hyperacusis (Noxacusis)

My hyperacusis began in 2020. I was listening to music for a prolonged period of time (but not that loud) and my ears started to hurt. I went to the ENT a few days later he micro-suctioned my ear, and after the micro-suction I started to notice that everything was very loud. I felt that things were pretty loud for a few days and then it went away, and I forgot all about it.

Fast forward to November 2021, I was having a sinus infection and my ear was hurting, the next day, I went to an event which was loud and hurt my ears. From then, I developed loudness hyperacusis again. 2 weeks later, a fire alarm went off a few feet away from my head. Since then, I developed pain hyperacusis aka noxacusis. My symptoms included burning on the outer parts of my ear (the helix), sharp jolts of pain in my ear, itchy ears, a cold liquid feeling in my ear and sensitivity to sound. My loudness hyperacusis has pretty much gone away and I am only left with the pain hyperacusis. I have had a couple of setbacks from going to loud events (with earplugs) in the month of February, and now I am resting my ears.

I will be sharing my journey, the supplements that I use, links to posts that I see as helpful, and what seems to help me. I hope for healing, positivity, joy, happiness, and low stress and anxiety over us all. I know that this is a hard time for all of us and I am speaking healing over all of us and our journey.

 

Thanks for sharing, and I will be interested to hear how you do.

I would really encourage you to avoid any questionable exposure to loud noise or things you have previously had a problem with. A series of noise traumas over time can make your condition progressively worse and could greatly impact your life. So, please err on the side of caution. If (when) you recover from this, treat your ears carefully and you might never have another problem. Let your guard down and make a mistake, and you could be in real trouble. Always carry earplugs with you so you have them if the need arises.

Hope you do well!

 

It seems that younger people, like yourself, are more likely to recover from these issues.

 

Hello SecretMoniker! Always remain positive.

I also started with hypercusis nine months ago, and I am improving slowly. I am now driving without my earplugs, going to the supermarket etc.

I also have regular counselling, this has been so helpful. And I use NHS provided in-ear sound generators.

Let us know how you are. Sending prayers.

 

I got it just after turning 29. I'm almost 31 now and although there has been some improvement life is still hell. It seems teenagers recover best.

 

Hi SecretMoniker, I am sorry to hear you have developed pain hyperacusis. On the bright side, you've only had it for a couple of months, so there is a very good chance of recovering to a great extent, if you are very careful with sound exposure from now on, and do whatever it takes to prevent getting another setback.

You have to find the discipline within yourself to stop going to loud establishments such as bars and clubs, even when using earplugs.

Most importantly, listen to what your ears tell you, if noise feels too loud for you, it probably is too loud for you.

Please do not ruin your life like I did.

Best of luck.

 

Sorry to hear that. I read a post of yours from 2020 and it seemed to had improved. Did it get worse?

 

Thank you for the advice. How exactly did you ruin your life? Did you have many setbacks?

 

I agree with other sentiments that you should be extremely cautious going forward. I’d avoid loud events entirely for a good while (like the rest of 2022). Sadly this condition can get much, much worse to the point where it ruins your life and renders you housebound.

Fortunately you are pretty young and are aware of the condition, so you should recover and be able to lead a mostly normal life. You’ll just have to wear ear protection in situations others might not. No big deal.

I’ve been dealing with somewhat severe hyperacusis since a serious noise injury in 2019. It feels like I get 70% recovered then set myself back somehow and have to suffer for months just to get back to 70%. This has happened 3 times since 2019. Right now I’d say I’m pushing 60% recovered.

Keep in mind I’ve never had a bad noise injury since 2019. All of my setbacks came from sounds at technically safe dB levels. Please be careful and take things slow. Good luck!

 

@chinup, what caused those setbacks? You say that those sounds were safe dB levels... Were they maybe artificial sounds? Thanks.

 

When I first developed hyperacusis, I tried to ignore the pain and somewhat continue my regular activities as usual.

With each setback, it took me longer to "recover" (that means, reach a level with little to no symptoms). This condition has seriously messed with my mental health. I have suffered from a severe burnout because of it. I had to leave my old life behind and move back to my parents. It took me months to stop feeling suicidal.

I don't know what the future will bring to be honest, but I am not sure if I will survive another setback. I am able to function somewhat now, but I am wearing hearing protection pretty much all day long.

Some of us on here aren't so lucky and are stuck with burning ear pain 24/7.

Save yourself while you still can. You will regret it if you don't. Also, if you are not careful of yourself, you might have to start taking psychiatric medication such as benzos, antipsychotics or antidepressants. These drugs can cause all kind of side effects which can even be worse than the illness it is supposed to cure.

 

Hey these guys are all right. Avoid any loud places for as long as you can. This pain hyperacusis is no joke. I tested it. I won’t even say how bad I have it because I don’t want to put any negativity into your heads. The less you set it off, the better it will get. I think you will get much better and will improve with time.

I can speak for personal experience. Don’t do sound therapy for the pain. And wear earplugs in the car. I was very cautious with my ears for many years and was lucky. An airbag explosion was truly the only thing on this planet that could have gotten me. My tinnitus and loudness hyperacusis turned into catastrophic noxacusis.

Even being moderate, it’s extremely hard to stop going to loud places and it sucks. You have to make changes in your life. But as long as you are careful, you won’t end up like me or some of the other guys in these comments because they have it bad too. Like they said, save yourself.

 

Yes they were caused by music from headphones and then music from my phone speaker. Both electric guitar. Safe levels. I have since removed headphones and phone speakers from my life entirely and I’m recovering again. I am pleased to say my noxacusis is 80% improved! Loudness hyperacusis is still probably at 65% but also improving.

 

Indeed, you should probably remove the headphones entirely from your life and talk on the phone when it's 100% necessary.

I am really glad that you improved so much. Can you give us some details on your recovery process? Considering that you mentioned that you had somewhat severe hyperacusis, did you have pain in silence, also?

Thanks.

 

What’s the longest it’s taken you to recover from a setback. Prior to my worsening where I’m in hearing protection 24/7 from “safe” volume level exposures, for me it was 2-3 months.

It’s been about 40 days now since I’ve been in ear protection 24/7 and I don’t think I’ve had any improvement. Definitely new tinnitus tones popping up like crazy here lately. I don’t understand it. I’m wondering if for us an acoustic trauma can happen at much lower levels and I’ve done more damage than I realize.

 

Do not do that. You will ruin your ears for the rest of your life if you keep exposing yourself to loud noise having hyperacusis.

 

Hi, I've never really recovered since my last couple setbacks.

Around spring/summer last year, it took me a couple weeks of just not listening to music and not using drugs/drinking alcohol to get to a level where I didn't really notice the hyperacusis. I could also listen to music then and go outside without hearing protection.

I don't really know which setback was the final straw, but I am protecting all day long since November I believe.

There were periods when even when I was wearing hearing protection, I still perceived some sounds as too loud. I believe the key to improving is again avoiding all sounds that you feel uncomfortable about.

Even if that means wearing double hearing protection and being more careful with how you move. You have to be militant about it, but it is a sacrifice that is worth making. I've said it before but I highly advise getting custom earplugs made if you can stomach a trip to the hearing care professional. Double hearing protection is very helpful for trips to the supermarket and car rides.

Most importantly: Avoid all digital sounds!

About the new tinnitus tones popping up, that has happened to me too. Do you find any correlation between quality/quantity of sleep, your overall health and mood, and your tinnitus? For me, these factors are interrelated much more than they are for pain hyperacusis. I'd recommend finding ways to optimize your mental and physical health wherever possible.

In my opinion, it is also important to change your mindset. Complete recovery is probably not going to happen on its own. What we can achieve however is reach to a level where we can live in a relatively normal fashion, albeit wearing hearing protection as necessary. I used to be unable to talk without hurting my ears, now I can talk more freely with people, even though I wear hearing protection then. It is important to keep in mind that theoretically, the more you improve, the less sounds aggravate your hyperacusis, and the faster the recovery process should go (if major setbacks do not occur). Do you use any supplements or anything like that? I am taking those, I am visiting a chiropractor weekly, and Ive also brought a laser machine at home. This might speed up the recovery process.

This condition is absolutely the most brutal thing I have ever dealt with in my life. But you will get used to wearing hearing protection. Most of the time I'm not even conscious of it. I'd advise you not to focus on how you can use hearing protection less, but on how you can continue your day to day activities whilst wearing protection. This will give you more joy and happiness than trying to scale down it. We just have to last it out until a definitive cure become available.

Maybe you know all of this already and this sounds redundant to you, but I'd figure to summarize my thoughts on this condition for other people in the thread as well.

 

My biggest problem right now is this low frequency tinnitus. I was managing 24/7 protection before this. This tone first developed about 3 weeks ago in my left ear and it’s gradually become more warbly and literally gives me a sensation my body is vibrating.

Just a couple days ago I suddenly got a spike after some light exercise. I’m talking like walking up and down the stairs in my townhouse and walking around the main floor. Later that night the warbly tone showed up in my right ear more prominently. I’d kind of heard it in the background before this, but boom, it was prominent. Then it became like a siren and then just a really high pure tone. Later it has returned to the warble and has remained. I just can’t make sense of where these tones are coming from unless it’s sound deprivation from constant protection.

I honestly don’t even feel I have the same tinnitus I had when I started 24/7 protection. It’s like it’s all completely changed. It hasn’t gotten louder really, but it’s just all different tones and changes a lot more.

I don’t perceive any sounds as too loud. I barely get pain from one off noises. Mostly my kids’ iPads near me or something. Which I am avoiding as much as possible. But if I take off the protection for awhile to rest my ears even in my basement at 30 some dB after awhile I’ll get pain that lasts for hours and my face hurts.

I only take Tru Niagen, NAC and Melatonin right now. My other supplements spike me. I used to take them periodically before 24/7 protection because I could tolerate some spiking every few days for the possible benefits. Now I just can’t handle any more noise on top of what I’m dealing with in my head. These low frequencies tones have me debilitated to where I’m not functioning. I’m suicidal more than ever.

The digital sound thing is so confounding. Like what is it that makes us all so sensitive to it? It’s impossible not to have a phone call here and there. I try to avoid my kids’ iPads, but I have to be around them some. A lot of their activities involve digital audio. So I can basically never just watch a show or movie with my kids again. It’s insanity.

I mean maybe I could last till Susan Shore’s device came out to help with this low frequency tinnitus. Unless it’s pulsatile, which is what another member told me they think it is. But with noxacusis this bad, how can I use the device?

What hope of treatment do we really have. There is stuff in the pipeline that may help us. It’s all speculation though and still years away, unless one of these compassionate use cases is a breakthrough. I’m just so disheartened.

 

I'll just add this, and I know we've discussed this before elsewhere, but I believe this has been my exact experience as well. For me, it went very fast.

Roughly one year ago, I went from enriching myself with all indoor sounds without any issue whatsoever. I had an almost normal tolerance to sound. Then, one week, I decided to protect almost 24/7 because I had a spike and wanted to "resolve it quicker" - I thought. The spike btw, was nothing out of the ordinary, and there were no acoustic trauma that set it off. I also became highly anxious during this time and began taking Hydroxyzine, an antihistamine for 7 consecutive days. During two weeks time, my tinnitus increased in volume and I got new tones, it became completely indistinguishable from what it was before. I started gaining tones new tones from moderate level sound, and spike to low level sound. My tolerance to sound also plummeted.

In the beginning I blamed the antihistamine, but since I had taken it a few times before (while having tinnitus) without any issue whatsoever, I'm now leaning towards the sound deprivation. This may not happen for everyone, but it seems my brain was wired for it to happen unfortunately.

I firmly believe in protection! - but I think weird shit can happen once we get into the realm of 24/7 protection.

Edit: But of course, I understand, when there's noxacusis involved there's not really any choice in how much one should protect.

 

In another thread recently I posted a link to a research paper that says sound deprivation can cause hearing loss. There is also that one research paper about unilateral earplug usage and people experiencing tinnitus. So I’m sure it can cause tinnitus to start acting up, especially in those who have it already.

I’m thinking that low frequency material may be something I come across while protected constantly and in my house so maybe this low frequency tinnitus is being brought on by the lack of stimulation in that frequency range.

Of course, as you say, with noxacusis at a severe level, how do I get around that? If I don’t protect I go into hours long pain cycles and probably will not heal. If I do protect I possibly have this tinnitus that is draining me mentally and emotionally.

It reacts to residual inhibition quite a bit. I’ve never had tinnitus react to residual inhibition before. If I stop protecting and take in some low level sound or I use something like my razor it will become less defined and settle into a bassy gurgling mess. In that state it’s still draining, but it doesn’t give me the physically vibrating sensation.

I too was wondering if meds were related to mine. I was taking periodic Clonazepam. Only like 10 doses in the past 4-5 months. This vibration thing mimics essential tremor, which is a benzo withdrawal symptom. However, I only have it when the tinnitus is giving off the sensation of vibrating. Occasionally it will calm down and recede some and I never feel like I’m vibrating at those times. Also the level of how much I feel I’m vibrating is in line with how loud and intrusive the tone grows.

So I can’t say for sure that it wasn’t brought on by Clonazepam, but it seems odd. I haven’t read any cases of very low frequency tinnitus from Clonazepam on the forum. Normally people report higher pitched very shrill tinnitus from it. Also, normally it’s loud. Like to say mine is not. In hearing protection it definitely feels like it is. When I take off the hearing protection I can tell that it’s 2-3 volume wise max. It still gives me the vibration sensation though.

If only I could get out of protection and see, once normal sound exposure was reestablished, if it would go away.

 

Okay, my heart sank for a moment reading that, as I've been doing this for an entire year. Luckily I'm not completely deaf yet lol, but I sincerely hope more synaptic connections haven't died off because of this...

My own observation though is that my tinnitus changed most significantly during times when my sensitivity (in terms of loudness) increased. First during the initial weeks of sound deprivation a year ago, and secondly a month later when I had a setback and a major drop in tolerance. My tinnitus has remained pretty "stable" since then, albeit spiking to almost any sound, and being extremely volatile.

 

Here’s the study if you want to take a look at it:

Sound deprivation leads to irreversible hearing loss

It seems we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.

 

Pretty scary actually. Wondering if bone anchored hearing aids would prevent it from happening in patients with conductive hearing loss.

The only difference I see here is that conductive hearing loss is true 24/7 sound deprivation (especially in the high frequency range), while we may still get a few minutes each day where we're exposed to high frequency sound, when the protection is being changed or off. My guess is that some synapses die off because they're not being used - at all.

 

This is one study from 7 years ago. Have the results ever been duplicated?

 

Sucks to hear that. But the fact that you don't get an immediate pain reaction from sounds is probably a good thing. By pain, you mean a burning sensation that spreads to other areas, right? For me personally, these sensations typically fade much sooner than direct pain from sounds if I protect myself enough.

If I read your message correctly, you are worried about worsening your tinnitus by depriving yourself from sound. I believe these new tones are temporary reactions to a lack of sound input. They could also be reactions to stress or sleep deprivation. Getting a spike after exercise might have something to do with a raised blood pressure, it should fade after some time. How would you say your overall mental and physical health is? I think that has a bigger influence on tinnitus than wearing protection. Are you sure there aren't any other medical issues with your ear that you aren't aware of? I wouldn't worry about sound deprivation causing hearing loss right now.

I get it, tinnitus is hell. I've been suffering it for a solid decade. Please don't kill yourself. Try to read a book or something to give yourself distraction. Maybe tell your kids to go outside. I would maybe also advise some meditation if you want to look into that. It really does help for tinnitus. Maybe also look into nerve blocks if this kind of treatment is available near you. There are honestly a lot of other treatments for tinnitus in the pipeline right now. But we don't know much about treatments for pain hyperacusis yet. Even though you might not feel like it, I think you have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about your hyperacusis situation. Just try to hold tight.

Kind regards.

 

No, my pain is different. When I had my initial noise trauma that caused my issues three years ago I developed deep ache and tingling in my jaw and forehead. I would get the burning sensation in my ears, a feeling like a chisel had been ran through them and made them raw and pain. I never got deep stabbing pain.

Now I get an ache all over my entire face, in my ears, behind my eyes and I’ve even had my arms and hands start to hurt now. It’s so strange. If I expose for say an hour, then when the pain comes, it lasts for hours. Like the other day when I couldn’t handle the vibrating tinnitus, I went in my basement and exposed for an hour.

Then I only plugged my right ear and let the one with the vibrating low frequency stay open awhile longer. I ended up with pain for the rest of the day after that. So from like 3pm till some time in the night when it calmed down. My ears did feel hot inside, but not burning pain. Just ache.

I can handle some new tones. I cannot handle this bass tone. Like to say it literally makes me feel like I’m vibrating nonstop. I had the sensation of vibrating for almost 10 hours yesterday as I laid in bed depressed. The tone is somewhat in my right ear too. So I can’t even lay to one side to partially escape it. It’s like one of the worst possible tinnitus sounds I could imagine to have while plugging my ears. Insanity.

 

I am sorry to hear that. Is the sound a bit like a rolling, thunderous sound? Does the sound and feeling spread from the ear area? It could have something to do with your muscles unconsciously tensing up, but I am by no means an expert on that area.

Maybe you could visit an ENT to exclude somatic causes of your tinnitus, if you can handle it. In the meantime you could try some relaxation exercises such as counting your breath or mindfully observing these tinnitus sensations.

Do you maybe have friends or family that could help you out with practical stuff to relieve some of your stress? There is absolutely no shame in asking help.

 

I think exercise changes tinnitus for some people, it may spike it, or make it lower, and in my case changes hearing perception. I experience a bit of a fluctuating hearing, meaning sometimes I perceive sounds different several times a day, muffled sensation, or some sounds enhanced and others dampened etc.

One of the ENTs I visited said that the endolymph, the liquid of the inner ear, may change depending on what we eat and drink, and how much we eat every time. He did not say anything specific about exercise but maybe there is a change too depending on blood flow etc.

All I know is that my tinnitus reacts to diet, amount of water intake and exercise. It is quite random. I don't find the exact pattern.

 

It sounds like a generator running or, when it really gets going, like a chainsaw that’s idling. Sometimes it can be quiet, but ever-present. When it’s quiet, I am not in severe distress. As soon as it starts to pick up my distress level increases exponentially.

No, I have no one to help me locally. My mother is elderly and lives 8 hours away.

My father actually stopped speaking to me over my ear problems after the first couple months I had them. He kept pressing me about when I was going back to work etc and I told him I was healing and he wasn’t helping and I’d have to block him if he didn’t stop pressuring me. Haven’t spoken to him since. He’s prideful and I guess me telling him I would cut him off made him cut me off instead.

He has tinnitus and apparently had for a decade and never told me until I got it. He thinks what he has and what I have are somehow similar. He is a diesel mechanic who works on loud machines all the time without being phased. I had a setback that has driven me into constant protection from 70ish dB and under sounds. Clearly what we have are not even remotely similar. We only share tinnitus as an issue.

All my other relatives are spread out over the East Coast. I live in the Midwest.

I’m concerned if I go to an ENT they are just going to want to run standard hearing tests that will set me back further. I am concerned about some things, but I honestly don’t know what I can handle right now. I can’t seem to handle more than the short drive of to my kids’ school and back daily right now. I had to go to the bank the other day and picked my kids up some Frostie’s from Wendy’s and had pain for hours that night too.

I’ve never been anywhere near this level before. I was always able to drive before without issue. Never any pain. I’ve never been anywhere near constant protection. This is very much a worsening vs. what I normally consider a setback. Like to say without this ungodly tinnitus tone I was handling it ok.

Sorry to be so self-focused. Thank you for talking with me and I hope you are navigating your current issues better than I am.

Are you taking any medications?

 

That sucks. Fathers can be really troublesome for sure.

Don't worry about it, we are here to help each other, albeit in small ways.

No, thankfully I can manage without them.