Sensitivity to Background Noise

I can hear sounds from far away, like vehicles honking down below on the street even when I'm on the 28th floor. Prior to getting H, I enjoyed having my desk by the window because of the lovely view. But now, I've moved my desk along the aisle to escape the incessant sounds of honking.

I can hear the jangling of keys or jewelry on a person even when they're so many feet away from me. The sound isn't particularly loud or painful, but it definitely stands out.

I can hear (or rather, feel) vehicles passing by several streets away from where I live. It's a constant rumble against my ears. In some places, I can also hear/feel the hum and vibration of AC systems.

I can hear the "S" of someone talking even when they're on the other side of our open office. I can't hear the rest of what they're saying, but my ears can make out what seems to be hissing noises.

These all should be background noises, but I can hear them, and I notice them. They get my attention , they distract me, they annoy me.

I can also hear the whistling of the water when I flush the toilet at work. It's like a tinny whine. In general, everything seems higher pitched for me, including music. I can't hear the bass. When I use bigger, high-quality speakers, I still can't hear the bass but I can feel it which is annoying.

How can I desensitize myself against this kind of H?

 

Hi alexandra.
It will take time but build up your time around the sounds and don't avoid them and try not attach a emotional response and say to your self you are in control and just move away or close the window etc and that should help.
If it does not settle white noise generators can help some people with Hyperacusis with CBT or TRT...lots of love glynis

 

@Lex Please click on the link below and read my post. The advice that Glynis has given you is very good and suggest that you try and get help through ENT.
All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Thanks, @glynis and @Michael Leigh. I'm doing my best not to respond negatively to the extra sounds and vibations I've been hearing, though it can be hard not to be distressed whener I hear something new.

As for TRT, I wonder how it can work against this kind of sensitivity. Oh I'm willing to try it to lessen the pain and/or startle response when I encounter certain frequencies (a sudden cough, the bang of a slammed door). But how can it work to make my ears hear less? I don't understand why I'm hearing faraway sounds that no one else can.

 

I have the same thing which is really annoying. I agree with you with jewelry and earings it's really annoying. Do you also hear high pitch sounds from electronics and AC power cord or power transformer ?

If that can give you hope some part seems to improve a bit. At first I couldn't stand hearing other people earphones when in the elevator but now it doesn't bother me. I also use to ear the electronics of my computer from my bed now I can't. Same for a light at my place I use to hear a buzzing noise coming from it from meters away now it's gone. I only hear the normal sound when I glue my head on it.

 

You basically described my exact kinda H,it's insane,a truck driving far away from me vibrates my head,I can hear it as well as feel it and then comes the pain along with it.Also my startle response is just uncontrollable,my mother coughing or a sudden laugh near me is like having my entire head electrocuted!If my brother shuts his door hard at the opposite of the house I jump into the air from the sudden noise.Its been 3 days now like this,insane and I just hope it can calm down given enough time,I know in my case it's not going to happen overnight but all I can do is hope.

 

@VRZ78, it improved somewhat. At the onset of H, airplanes passing overhead sounded so near that they would scare me. Also, the sound of the AC systems seemed like a low rumbling of thunder for me. Now, they're back to normal. But the sensitivity to passing vehicles has always been there since
day 1 and it's driving me mad. I don't know if I can ever habituate to it. How is your H now?

@bill 112, in my second month of H, my startle response was so bad. Even the softest sounds would catch me off guard. That decreased by a lot, though there are still days when my startle response is working overdrive. Anyway, how can you cope with the vibrations coming from far away? They're driving me up the wall. How is your H now?

 

It's insane,every little noise shocks my head even with earmuffs on,in fact it's worse with earmuffs on so I try to just get through the day at home without them.Its been a month now with little to no improvement since it randomly got worse.

 

@bill 112, I hope things will improve for you really soon.

~~~
I've developed a new symptom. My friends and I were chatting over fruit shakes yesterday (I had foam ear plugs on) when I felt the lid of my cup vibrate. I thought there was something wrong with my fingers, but then I realized I was feeling the vibration of my friends' voices bouncing off my cup.

Can H cause this? Sounds are vibrations, after all. If I'm sensitive to sounds, does this mean the vibrations (and not just the volume) are amplified?

 

I have this also,apparently a symptom of neuropathy is an increased sensitivity to touch or unusual skin sensations so if the theory of H being neuropathic in nature is true this would make perfect sense.

 

@bill 112, are you taking anything for neuropathy? I haven't gone to a neurologist yet.

 

When you have high frequency hearing loss the brain increases the gain in the high frequencies that's why everything sounds tinny, the s and keys sound loud and the bass is hard to hear even though you don't have actual low frequency loss.

I had these happen to me too, took me a while to understand this.

This will improve over time as nerves heal a bit and the high frequncies sound comes back and also the brain gets used to it.

For the time being avoid loud sound over 60db bu wearing ear protection but also avoid total silence

 

But I'm also sensitive to vibrations and low frequency sounds. I'm trying hard to cope, but every new sensation I feel puts my anxiety into overdrive.

I've never felt vibrations of voices bouncing off my cup before, so I really find that super distressful.

 

A comment because in spite of all the great responses, Michael and glynis cover your best approach beautifully.
My comment is...you may have an undercurrent of anxiety that contributes to both your T and H. Sure, your T and H are rooted in reality but you may have heightened anxiety perhaps relatedly but in addition to your T and H which only makes matters worse. So consider your life in totality. Did you have a large degree of anxiety when you contracted T and H? Guess what? Many of us did. I did. I was going through some personal issues and bam I woke up one day with this. And yes, your and my T and H maybe rooted in neuropathy. And...your heightened anxiety may be a primary contributor to you getting T and H in the first place.
So, look to address your anxiety almost independent of T and H and if you are successful in lowering it due to life style, sleep, diet, exercise changes, my guess it will help your H and T.
Good luck Alex.

 

@stophiss, yes, I am a very anxious person. I have always something to stress about. In fact, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized disorder more than a decade ago. I was on meds for four years before my shrink decided I was fine enough to be off them. But the anxiety never really went away; it just became more manageable. However, it isn't that manageable now. Worse, I can't enjoy things anymore. Technically my case isn't that awful -- pain from and intolerance to high frequency sounds have decreased considerably, and my startle reflex isn't that bad anymore. I also lost that sharp pain I felt between my eyes whenevet I heard a high-pitch sound. I can also listen to white noise which I couldn't handle at all before. But because I have new vibration sensitivities, I'm back to square one. All over again, I'm panicking, becoming acutely aware of every sensation, crying over changes, worrying about getting worse, feeling afraid of what the future holds. I feel like a kid who suffers more from agonizing over an upcoming blood test than from actually getting pricked by a needle.

Yes, I need professional help for my mental health. I can't enjoy my life anymore. I'm held hostage by my anxiety. Earlier today, I had breakfast at an open-air rooftop restaurant. The view is great, food is good, and noise is tolerable. Because cutlery no longer bothers me, utensils hitting plates didn't hurt anymore, but I still found myself listening for every clink. I also was very aware of traffic below, as if my ears were actually straining to feel/hear the motorcycles zooming by. But I could really feel/hear them, and I feel a whole-body tremor whenever that happens -- not painful but uncomfortable and incredibly disturbing. I couldn't enjoy my meal. In fact, I couldn't think of anything else. I felt nauseous, scared, hopeless and miserable. I wanted to throw up.

I know some people's H cases are worse than mine. But I think my mental state is in worse shape, and that makes it so hard for me to cope.

 

You mention your startle reflex was bad - can you describe what it was like?

I can feel my eardrums fluttering to impulse noises constantly ever since my incident and it's driving me up the wall. I have a little bit of sensitivity to sound as well, it doesn't cause me pain (more so discomfort, like you mentioned), but it's like my fight-or-flight response is in overdrive and thinks every sound is too loud. Silverware clinking, doors shutting, even pressing my spacebar key sometimes... I know it's probably some sort of tensor tympani syndrome, but I haven't read anything about cures or treatment (aside from cutting the muscle) and seeing that your calmed down gives me some hope, hah.

 

You know how when someone pops a balloon by your ear back before you had T or H? Or tosses a lit firecracker near where you are? My reaction to even soft sounds were at that level. There wasn't really pain in my ears, but the sounds almost made me jump out of my skin.

I have fluttering eardrums too, but I don't get them now as often as I did. My eardrums fluttered to the sounds of plastic and foil. I found that slightly painful. Now, it doesn't happen all the time. I know because I regularly test my tolerance by crumpling plastic and foil near my ears.

Since getting H in the first week of August (I had T a week prior to that), my symptoms have been changing a lot.

 

Kind of what I suspected reading your posts. Honestly, you remind me a bit of Nathalie's posts. You both are young, bright, pretty and scared out of your respective minds. I know a lot about anxiety and depression because it runs on my mother's side of the family...through our extended family btw including cousins and aunt's etc. I bet if you take inventory you will find it in your family as depression and anxiety tend to be genetic. So...your shrink took you off meds. Sounds like a bad move Alex. I know many who have tried....some successful and a large number where this experience hasn't worked out in the least. In fact, I dated a bi-polar girl who was in a constant internal battle with herself that she didn't need meds and I could always tell when she was tinkering with her medication or going off. She turned into a freakishly depressed person. So this is part of your journey Alex. Life is largely an experiment. Please do me a favor and take what you wrote I am quoting, print it and give it to the shrink that had the genius to take you off your meds that addressed your mental health. No way to live Alex..living in the mental state you eloquently write about.
FWIW Nathalie is in the same boat...as are millions throughout the world....T, no T, H or no H. They are only a few more obstacles to deal with. Without proper mental health, they are mountains instead of incidental issues many have to live with.
Further, there is a large variety of different meds available to treat anxiety and depression. Dosage is huge in terms of effectiveness.
So, get professional help as soon as you can Alex. Don't let more time elapse. I have written here frequently, if there is a cardinal mistake about mental health, nobody has strength of will to ordain it. And...its rather hard to be objective about our mental health. Not being objective is why many of us need a good therapist to help suggest not only lifestyle changes, but administer medication if necessary and/or address any inner conflict you may have based upon your upbringing. But you basically said all that needs to be said by what you have written. Says it all. Good mental health is a function of balanced brain chemistry and for those with a genetic predisposition toward anxiety and depression, good brain chemistry many times needs assistance externally which includes trial and error of medication to determine the best balance.

Hope above makes sense and best of luck.

 

@stophiss Thank you. Your input means a lot to me. Yes, this is no way to live, and if it isn't H, there's always going to be something else to pull me down.

I hate that I got T and H, but even without those, I've already been feeling dead inside for a time and I was just drifting through life. So yeah, I neglected my mental health in recent years. Ugh why can't I have a cooperating brain! It seriously has a mind of its own.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year as well.

 

None of us like to accept we have some level of mental illness all said. You may have been the smartest kid in your class and yet suffer with mood disorder. Even though depression and anxiety are related, they are quite different. Compare you to me for example...you mention feeling dead...this is depression Alex. I am on the other side...or at least have vestiges of it when under pressure. I get anxious. I struggle with feeling like I am going to jump out of my skin when faced with things I don't like to do for example. So I feel the opposite...more amped up. But neither condition are a good way to live. You are going thru the motions and I am feeling more fight or flight. FWIW, I take no medication as my symptoms are very mild...but make no mistake, I am my mother's son and I clearly have a lot of her bloodline and anxiety runs deep through our family and we all have pretty much lived the American dream...with good education etc but not without crafting our lives out of respect for this issue. Both my mother and sister are on daily medication for anxiety and they both are brilliant however struggle with this condition and are much better with medication. So please for your own sake, make necessary changes. What is almost astounding is...just how little free will we have Alex. I always laugh about this concept. Everybody is ruled by their brain chemistry which they don't choose. In fact if you want an analogy, nobody chooses tinnitus or hyperacusis either. It just shows up one day. Similarly, I have never met anybody with the strength of will to shut it off either. Mental health is the same way. As with our tinnitus perhaps we can make changes in our life to minimize its impact, this is the same with anxiety or depression as well for example. If you get freaked out giving a speech in front of large audience, then don't give speeches for a living. If getting on airplane freaks you out, don't get a job where you have to be on airplanes all the time. Just like tinnitus which is basically a brain disorder...or many believe that at least and why so difficult to solve, nobody chooses good mental health and conversely, nobody chooses bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia either. But you know who you are and the fact you are here talking about difficulty coping suggests its time to consider a change. A little pill can completely change your perspective and your life.
So I hope you take this step and get out there and live.
Happy New Year to you Alex and all here.

 

Happy New Year to you too, @stophiss. I'll continue looking for ways to improve (or eliminate) H, but I do agree that I need to address my mental issues as well. It's just overwhelming because there are too many things going on, but I guess I have to start somewhere. I'll go to a neurologist as well given how whacked my nerves are.

 

My armchair assessement based upon playing a therapist on the internet is, if you address your mental health issue, your T and H will improve...or at least your perception and ability to cope with it will.
Best of luck in the New Year Alex.

 

Oh I agree. The mind is a powerful thing.

But I'm starting to think that there's a neurological issue going on as well. Aside from visiting a psychiatrist, I'm going to visit a neuro-otologist as well. I don't have high hopes though.

 

I wrote a bit earlier that neuropathy and anxiety aren't mutually exclusive Alex. That is why many improve on anti depressant meds. Based upon what you wrote, I believe you have depression..perhaps severe at times contributing to your self admission about feeling dead.
All said, I think you are on the right path if you visit both professionals you mention.
Good luck in '17!
PS: if you question that neuropathy and mental state are not related, consider the med Lyrica. Lyrica addresses both neuropathy and is mood altering. As it turns out, they are related.

 

I don't have high-frequency loss. But how high is high?