Just wondering how best to treat hyperacusis. I've had it quite severely for about five months now, along with bad reactive tinnitus. The tinnitus is very loud and I'm struggling to sleep. I'm scared to take medications in case they make things worse.
I've had all the tests from ENT and audiology, and nothing is wrong. No hearing loss. I'm wondering if I should start exposure therapy to deal with the hyperacusis or if I should hold off and rest my ears for a few more months.
My tinnitus started suddenly overnight in one ear and then progressed to the other. After five months, it is fluctuating between ears. I take a Zopiclone once a week, which gives me about three or four hours of sleep, but I still struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep since this began. Whether I get sleep or not doesn't seem to affect the tinnitus. In fact, some days when I haven't slept at all, the tinnitus is a bit better—maybe because my brain is too exhausted to produce the sound?
I don't want to make the hyperacusis worse, and I worry that exposure therapy might do that, leaving me with no way back. I'm wondering what other people have done.
I'm not wearing earplugs around the house, but I can't stay in the kitchen when the kettle is boiling or the washing machine is running. Even the fridge sound is loud and irritating. I can't stand running water, and the wind is often strong here, so I can only get outside in the garden on still days. Going in a car is impossible because of the sound of the tyres on the road.
I usually start the morning with barely any tinnitus at all, but it comes on around 11 a.m. and gets worse as the day goes on. Any advice from anyone who has been through this or is going through it now?
I've had all the tests from ENT and audiology, and nothing is wrong. No hearing loss. I'm wondering if I should start exposure therapy to deal with the hyperacusis or if I should hold off and rest my ears for a few more months.
My tinnitus started suddenly overnight in one ear and then progressed to the other. After five months, it is fluctuating between ears. I take a Zopiclone once a week, which gives me about three or four hours of sleep, but I still struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep since this began. Whether I get sleep or not doesn't seem to affect the tinnitus. In fact, some days when I haven't slept at all, the tinnitus is a bit better—maybe because my brain is too exhausted to produce the sound?
I don't want to make the hyperacusis worse, and I worry that exposure therapy might do that, leaving me with no way back. I'm wondering what other people have done.
I'm not wearing earplugs around the house, but I can't stay in the kitchen when the kettle is boiling or the washing machine is running. Even the fridge sound is loud and irritating. I can't stand running water, and the wind is often strong here, so I can only get outside in the garden on still days. Going in a car is impossible because of the sound of the tyres on the road.
I usually start the morning with barely any tinnitus at all, but it comes on around 11 a.m. and gets worse as the day goes on. Any advice from anyone who has been through this or is going through it now?
