Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Worsening from Repeated Noise Trauma

Hello,

I had mild tinnitus for 13 years but two years ago it got severely loud after noise trauma. I have had repeated noise traumas, but the most recent ones have come from sudden noises outside, like alarms, sirens, aircraft and traffic. It came along with hyperacusis which was manageable gradually in the beginning but has recently got a lot worse. My office has recently become too loud as when my work colleagues laughed near me, I started to get acute physical ear pain and my tinnitus has spiked (it hasn't gone back down yet).

I spoke to my boss and I am being allowed to work from home in the meantime whilst waiting to be seen by Occupational Health. I may be allowed to work from home indefinitely, which will help me manage the condition.

I do have suicidal thoughts every day, but I am also a fighter and try to soldier on. Though my life has been ruined by these two conditions and I no longer recognise myself today as the same person I was 2 years ago.
Luckily I am having some counselling soon to discuss all of these problems.

Appreciate any advice from anyone living with reactive intrusive tinnitus and hyperacusis.

P.S. It is also worth mentioning that I have read possible treatments for hyperacusis including not wearing earplugs outside. I have tried this, but if I don't wear earplugs my tinnitus spikes (it is very reactive) so I go back to wearing earplugs. I am on medication to sleep but not staying asleep at the moment.

PPS. I am due to have dental work (a crown or cap) next week, and they will have to grind my tooth down to fit the new cap. I am also worried about the noise conduction of this to my ear and if it will worsen my condition. Appreciate any advice on this too.

Many thanks,

Martin

 

Have you been wearing earplugs for the last 13 years, or even for the last two in the office?

I have earplugs partially in at work, and sometimes it is difficult to hear coworkers. The aim is not to be in a safe dB range, but to protect oneself against the idiot coworker dropping his coffee mug on the tile floor, etc.

I would never go outside unprotected, you might as well walk around the African safari waving bacon around... see how long you’ll survive.

Good luck.

 

Hi @MRItechssuck
I've been wearing earplugs in bars and concerts until my Tinnitus worsened considerably in 2016 after one such concert, where it became intrusive, but quietly so (very low). After that concert I refused to attend another concert in my life. In 2018 I practiced electric guitar with a friend with earplugs, but when I took my earplugs out, he played music on a bluetooth speaker...I have a feeling it might have been that that made me have terrible loud tinnitus and hyperacusis, even if he only played 3 songs. My condition went from being manageable to almost unmanageable.
Since then I have need earplugs when driving, shopping, walking near roads etc etc. However the office was fine for a time. However last December someone laughed next to me in my ear, and I got very sudden ear pain and a rise in Tinnitus. Then a week ago, laughter from my coworkers was so loud it caused more spikes and pain. I didn't wear earplugs in the office as my T is very loud, I would not be able to concentrate on work. After this last episode my manager in the meantime is letting me work from home. But my Tinnitus has gone up even more. I don't go outside without earplugs for the past year....as sudden noises have caught me out. My own voice in certain echoey rooms have started to hurt my ear. It's just a nightmare this condition.

 

I know how it is wearing earplugs and then that is all you can hear, it’s not fun.
Don’t take anything for granted anymore, and always have earplugs.

I put a 1/2 earplug in for my hyperacusis (mostly right ear) for the kitchen and leaving the home.
You just can’t trust people not to do something stupid noise-wise.

I hope your work situation works out for you.

 

That's sensible. Common sense, I think. Try to watch your "recovery times" after noise exposure, or after being in situations you consider noisy. That's the key marker to achieve a better quality of life. If a certain situation puts you in pain for too many days or weeks, then you are worsening. If you recover after a somewhat noisy episode in 1-3 days, you will be on the right track.

Recovery times are also associated to rest periods. It is better not to be exposed to cumulative noisy episodes without resting in between. Hyperacusis and hearing problems get chronic more easily when your ears did not have enough rest to go back to baseline.

 

Hi @Juan
Unfortunately I need them all the time now. As i worked in quite a busy office, laughter there between colleagues got bad and my ears didn't have time to rest. I'm now working at home, but my ears ring much more loud and annoying and Hyperacusis is worst it's been. I should have asked to work from home sooner, but really didn't know I'd suffer like this.

 

Try to have background noise at home, or music. Any sound your ears like, but at low volume...

 

Yes, that is what I do, it helps... until my neighbour starts using drilling tools and drilling into my wall. How annoying.

 

For that the only option is leaving, going somewhere else until the noise stops and you can return home safely.

 

When you say if a certain situation puts you in pain, do you mean lingering pain or just pain from hyperacusis? Like I can't get outside my house without plugs, but I don't think there is lingering pain. Is it fine, or should I stop going outside altogether for a while?

 

In my particular case, pain from one single noise exposure could linger for a good 3 weeks if the noise was loud enough. And I don't mean staying in noise for hours, just a couple of seconds of loud noise.

This is very individual, as you can see… also, there are times when a loud sound triggers pressure instead of pain. Hyperacusis is a baffling condition, and symptoms are very individual, but it is important to wear hearing protection around loud sounds, even if these sounds last just for a brief moment.

You have to find your own balance, but it is advisable to be on the cautious side, not risking it too much.

 

I see. Can you give me some examples of such loud sounds that will give you pain for like 3 days? Just want to know what i am looking at here.

Thank you.

 

If you have severe hyperacusis it can be a car honking around you (not close by), or a loud motorbike passing by (not too close by), or a door slamming due to the wind.

A very loud sound that can set back people suffering from severe hyperacusis for a few weeks would be an unnoticed and unexpected power saw or a jackhammer going off close by. For instance, it can happen when walking along a street, there may be some renovation inside a building that is not possible to see from outside, and when you walk by the sound goes off.

 

@Juan

 

It can settle over time, get better, or you get used to it. For me it hasn't exactly changed for the better but I have got used to living with this.

 

Thanks man, really appreciate it. It sucks to live like this. My hyperacusis wasn't this bad initially. Like only horns, cutlery, baby screaming, noises like that hurt. Now everything hurts. Just can't leave my home without plugs (and I live in the 2nd noisiest city in the world.) FML!

 

Hi,

My story is similar to yours - a lifetime of loud music - low-level tinnitus for years but recently made much worse, and now the new horror of hyperacusis!

The hyperacusis is the worst aspect I find - though it has eased considerably since I first got it 8 months ago. The trick is to protect enough, but not too much. I found Amitriptyline reduced my hyperacusis but the side-effects are tough so I only took it for two months.

I still play a little piano but not as much and I've given up all gigs and band practices for a year after a band practice made me much worse too.

Hope things improve for you!