Suicidal

I'm so ill that physical exercise is impossible. The only thing I can do is walks with protection, but they help very little. I'm really desperate. I have nothing left against this monster.

I wish you the best, Daniel, keep exercising, that's the best thing.

 

Hi friend, I am sorry you are suffering so much. My X, who I'm still close to, has Myasthenia Gravis, it's an unusual autoimmune illness. She lives in London and has been getting periodic injections that seem to help. I will ask her and try to get a lead on her doctors. Maybe some possible help. I'll call her tonight.

I wish I could slay that monster for you, I understand, it hurts knowing you're in pain.

Sending you warmth, hugs, and prayers,
Daniel

 

Hey bud - really good to hear from you too. Very sorry about the worsening hearing loss. I’ll keep you in mind and be hoping for the best.

Try to take care man.

 

I do want to paint my green Peltor earmuffs black so they look like headphones. I just need to figure how to cover the "3M" that is molded in the ear pieces so it's more believable.

 

I want to paint my green Peltors too. I tried to paint a plastic chair yesterday and the result was... not so good. I used a primer and spray paint.

The problem is that if I scratch the surface the paint goes off easily.

 

What's with the sarcastic genius award, @Exit? Don't you have a shower to take or something?

And why are you laughing about, @Damocles? Why do you make fun of your bună bunny?

Come on, guys, cut me some slack!
I'm a freak, I don't want to look like one too...

Also, we should take this to chitchat.

 

Yup, I figured as much. Seems there’s always a catch with tinnitus and hyperacusis. My experience so far, at least. With treatments, trying something—anything—is really scary, to be honest... like playing a deadly game. You might get burned and you might get burned hard…to what extent is unknown. And there’s a good chance it’ll be bad. Most of my worsenings have been permanent. Not first-degree burns, like superficial sunburns with blisters and such. Those heal. I’m talking fourth-degree, where it penetrates both layers of the skin and destroys the nerve endings. That’s what it’s been like for me. Seems I’ve used up my 9 lives or something, or I’ve run out of resilience, or I’m super sensitive. I dunno. That’s why it often feels hopeless.

I saw @GBB is having success with Pramipexole, but then, of course, you see reports of worsenings with it. I’m at the point where I can’t afford anymore worsenings, but it seems like every single treatment option poses that risk.

So I dunno where that leaves the extreme sufferers. We feel screwed because one wrong move could be earth-shattering. I don’t know if this is normal with sickness, in general, or if tinnitus and hyperacusis are special kinds of evil. I've had other ailments before and don’t think this is normal. Usually, either a treatment works or it doesn’t. But with tinnitus and hyperacusis, every treatment having the potential to make you worse is uniquely diabolical. If you have Alzheimer’s, does treating it also risk making it worse? How about cancer? AIDS? MS? Or a tumor? I dunno. I don’t hear about that sort of thing, but maybe I’m unaware. Just seems like tinnitus and hyperacusis are especially evil. And I think that’s why many feel especially suicidal with them.

 

You just need to add a sealant coating. Maybe an acrylic sealant?

 

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Tbh, watching tutorials on how to paint my earmuffs is not how I imagined my life would be.

But yeah, I will try that acrylic thing...

 

That is the absolute worst sound for me as well. Even worse than dogs barking. It's so painful, even with protection, I think of killing the one pulling the cart for a split second.

Then I think, what do they know...

I fear supermarkets now.

 

Sounds otoxic so just give it up!

You’ll look completely nuts anyhow

 

@grate_biff, that sound bothers me a lot, too, even with protection. It’s just so shrill. Going to the supermarket is scary indeed. I definitely have to protect, but it’s too torturous to hear the tinnitus a lot louder when I do. Are you still using Trobalt? I saw a post where you said you had boxes of it.

 

I want to paint mine as well. Let us know if you find a good solution.

 

I’m always on edge too with that noise. I’m like Spider-Man doing backflips just to get away lol.

 

I never dared trying it.

 

Yea, even with 26SNR earplugs I jump. I stand back as far as I can and wait for everyone to get their carts, but someone always comes up and grabs one full-force while I'm in the middle of carefully pulling my cart out. I don't understand how they don't see me being careful and don't realize that maybe they shouldn't be slamming shit.

 

Something like this.

 

For everyone wanting to paint their peltor earmuffs, acrylic paint works, but it fades quickly. The paint is going pretty much on a plastic cover, hence why acrylic paint does not work quite as well.

I will try plastic dipping them and I will get back with my results.

 

Good to see the suicidal thread take the direction of earmuffs fashion... we need a break.

However, going back to @Jerad,

This condition is diabolical precisely because of that. The same treatment or medication can have opposite effects on different people and this means that if you are already on the verge of the abyss you can't try anything. Or the few things we could try, they are in the hands of insensitive researchers who move slowly through molasses with zero sense of urgency. This is the most misunderstood condition in human history. As we said many times, we would need the whole world population or perhaps just the medical establishment and research to get catastrophic tinnitus, hyperacusis and noxacusis for one week, with the instilled fear that it could come back any minute. We might not have a cure, but for sure research would move at a much higher speed and we would have decent treatments much sooner.

 

How many of you still vacuum? I use earplugs and earmuffs but it's still too loud. Do I need better earmuffs or is vacuuming another thing I shouldn't do?

 

@tpj, when my hyperacusis was mild or even moderate, I was able to vacuum with just 33 dB earplugs. Now I don’t dare vacuum unless I have double protection. I mainly avoid vacuuming at all cost because I noticed I get setbacks even with double protection. It also depends on what vacuum you use, some are way up in the 90 dB reading and the electric ones are in the lower 70 dB.

 

Maybe you need a quieter vacuum cleaner. There are ones which are under 60 dB loud today.

 

I can't use my current vacuum any more. The last 2 times I've used it (with 32 dB NRR foam earplugs coupled with 33 dB NRR earmuffs) has caused nasty spikes.

I'm looking for a quiet one.

 

Electrolux Ultra Silence!

Very silent with good HEPA filters.

Just strong enough with carpets too.

Don’t confuse it with Ultra One. It’s louder.

 

Thanks for the info. Stupid me for thinking all that protection was enough... sigh... I guess a quiet vacuum it is.

 

Oooooh is that a bagged vacuum?

 

Yup a normal one, even allergy bags available!

I can dB measure it for you next time I’m “home”...

Might take a while since my neighbour renovating their hallway for 5 weeks already with no end in sight... :/

On lowest volume it can still suck small stones from hardwood floor and barely hear it.

I’m impressed.

 

It came out pretty good. So far it’s definitely better than the acrylic paint. I used black plastic dip from Walmart ($7).

Steps:
1. Remove the ear pieces (the foams). Makes it easier to paint.
2. Use masking tape to cover the rubber part.
3. Remove the plastic bands (head part). They have clips that come off easily with a little force.

 

I looked it up, and there is a model called the UltraSilencer Zen that is rated at 58 dB.

 

Looks like it’s an “updated“ model.

Probably exactly the same. Make sure you get the 700-750 watts. Mine is 700 watts.

I see they sell them down to 600 watts and that would probably be a little short.