Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Free After 9 Months

In September/Octorber 2020 I got an ear infection on my right side which had as immediate symptoms distorted/muffled sounds and sound sensitivity, followed by HOT ears (sometimes both for some reason), burning/acid burning in the ear and soreness.

These symptoms escalated to a solid 6-7/10 after a month and the sound sensitivity was at its peak around December/January at a good 7.5/10.

Now in August I can confidently say that everything is mostly subsided to a constant 1-2/10. It's just mildly annoying sometimes.

Here is what I did: Since I happen to also be severely hard of hearing, when it got real bad, I took my hearing aids off for about 2 weeks straight. That made the sound sensitivity decrease a little bit. But besides that? Literally nothing. Waited, waited and waited, resumed my normal life, listening to YouTube and music with headphones at about 50-60% at all times. I did not change my diet, did not avoid too much not noise, went out to skate and went to the movies (Tenet no less). Only thing that is noticeably worse is my goddamn hearing.

There is hope guys.

 

Thanks a bunch for sharing your success, and huge congratulations to ya!

 

I just passed my 8th month of having ear infection-induced tinnitus so it's good to see progress with someone else! I'm down to relatively quiet days, but I still have to be wary of loud noises (still too hesitant to go to the movies). If I'm stuck with tinnitus the rest of my life, I hope it can at least be non-reactive and I can enjoy regular stuff again like you!

 

Nice bro! I’m glad you got better. My hyperacusis is terrible and gets worse every month. It’s amazing. Hope I can get some success like you.

 

Congratulations and so happy to hear that you are feeling and doing much better!

I actually am experiencing something almost identical to what you have described. I got an ear infection in my right ear at the end of May 2021. I have had incredibly manageable tinnitus my whole life, but this ear infection gave me reactive tinnitus and slight loudness/pain hyperacusis in my right ear.

I took the same approach as you. I have not changed much of anything to be honest (eating habits, working out, playing soft music on my speakers/iPhone, going to restaurants occasionally). The first month I carried ear plugs everywhere I went and used them basically anytime I was outside the confines of my own home. The loudness of a half filled restaurant was unbearable to me.

After awhile my ears ended up hurting more because of the constant use of plugs so I decided to ditch them altogether. I still have many pair around, but I do not rely on them like I used to. I truly believe this is where my progress towards recovery started. I am about 3 months in, and although I still have the reactive tinnitus, I’m noticing it less and less often.

Maybe I’m noticing less often? Who knows. All I can say is my ear has recovered, maybe 15-20% in those three months and I am very much so looking towards the next 6-12 months to see where I am at with this recovery process.

 

Did you find that exposure to normal, everyday sounds caused an aggravation of the tinnitus and hyperacusis?

I have lived my life as always without using earplugs but the tinnitus and hyperacusis seem to have worsened after fourteen (14) months. I realize that it might take several years before I see improvement.

 

@Athens, I’m sorry that I never responded, as part of my healing process was to try to get away from these forums as much as possible.

With that being said, when you had commented in November I was probably at the height of my recovery. I can rarely remember a time last October/November in which tinnitus aggravated me. It was almost like I had returned to my normal 2/10 baseline I had decades leading up to this.

I had been going basically everywhere without ear plugs that didn’t necessarily require plugs for people with “normal ears.” I had one setback at the end of November where I was caught in a loud bar which I didn’t bring earplugs to. The spike lasted maybe a few days and I was back to normal before the holidays.

Well, 4 days before Christmas holiday, I contracted COVID-19 and showed moderate symptoms (triple vaxxed). To be honest, I was plugged to all hell, but my tinnitus actually didn’t bother me one bit. After my isolation of 10 days, I really wanted to see my friends and family, so I decided to go to a very small get together at a friend’s house for New Year’s.

I am a very rare drinker, but on New Year’s I had quite a few drinks and my inhibitions were lowered. I decided it was a “good idea” to take part in the New Year’s festivities and blow kazoos with my friends. Terrible idea.

I’m now back to square one. What’s worse, is I have developed a new reactive tone that is not purely tonal, but more of like a metallic twinkling/Morse code type of tinnitus that is unbearable. On top of that, my very mild hyperacusis has progressed into what I’d probably consider moderate. I’m still able to go out to quiet restaurants and coffee shops without too much of an issue, but the mental anguish of being at the finish line of recovery and getting your legs (or ears, heh) taken out from under you has been so detrimental to me.

The only thing that has me hanging on for hope is that when this became an issue back in June, my new tone and reactive quality to my tinnitus slowly dissipated to a non issue by late October/Early November.

Sorry for the long winded post, just really needed to put this all out there for myself and others.

 

I hope that you see improvement again. My insomnia is better compared to 2020 when all of this started but the tinnitus seems more pronounced. It is difficult to tell whether anxiety and stress have just made my perception of it to be more severe. I have even thought that the pandemic might have me in a “fight or flight” mode that has caused my tinnitus and hyperacusis to come to the surface.

 

How are you feeling today @Athens?

 

I slept really well last night (after two tough nights). I do not feel well today. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that my symptoms are not improving and may be worsening but I know that progress is not linear.

How are you?

 

Hey @Athens, I'm glad to hear that you are able to get a good night’s rest. It’s truly important for recovery to be able to let your body rest and repair itself during deep sleep. Sorry to hear about your symptoms though...

I know how tough it can be sometimes. Some days are easier than others, but unfortunately I can’t get out of the mindset that if, “today is good, that means tomorrow’s gonna be worse.” That just seems to be how my tinnitus has been acting lately. Lately I can’t seem to string more than 4 hours of sleep together. Whether it be from my asthma, or from my constant bruxism; it’s making it difficult for my body/brain to get the rest it truly needs. I can tell it’s finally catching up to me and taking away from my focus at work/home.

Last night I fell asleep on the couch at 9pm (so early for me) and made it to my bed around 11.30 pm and slept until 7.30 am. Right now, (fingers crossed) my chirping seems very minimal and soft. Can’t really hear it over much which is a huge sigh of relief; even if it’s only for today. Speaking as a chronic tinnitus sufferer of 20 years, I promise you it gets better. Easier said that done, but try not to monitor it in every situation. I’m finally starting to get to that point after a month and a half and it helps start to push it to the back of your mind.

Anyways, keep your head up, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and the please try to get away from the forums as much as possible. Only come back if you are looking at research news and/or treatments your willing to try. This place can be great for sufferer like us, but it also put you into a deep anxiety pit (I experienced this) if you keep reading some of the worst case scenarios here. Protect yourself, drink water, eat healthy, and get great sleep and I promise things will start to get better. Take care!

 

The sleep part is the most challenging. It has gotten better since the beginning, but I am going through a tough period where I sleep between three and four hours a night for a few nights and then sleep for seven to eight hours the third night.