Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

Hello everyone,
I've just joined the forum, and like many of you, feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to turn.

In October of last year, I was in my cousin's backyard after the Chicago Cubs had just won the playoffs to make the world series, on a nice warm October evening. However, in celebration, his neighbor lit off a firecracker, then fired his shotgun three times into the air. He's a real winner. It all happened fast, didn't have time to really react or plug my ears. I was fine for the next couple days after, but have since developed tinnitus and hyperacusis. There were others in the yard at the time though, and as far as I know, I'm the only one suffering from this.

The tinnitus came first, though with a fullness feeling in the ears I now understand to be hyperacusis. Took me a while to fully understand H, though. I started with my general doctor who didn't seem concerned about the loud noise and wrote off the T and fullness as being related to sinus pressure, because lucky me, I also suffer from that and was experiencing sinus pain at the time of this incident as well. As such, I wasn't as immediately protective of my ears as I should/could have been. Restaurants seemed louder to me, but not "too loud". Even went to a concert, though I always wear earplugs and have for many years now (though not in my earlier years, so maybe that is now catching up to me).

Two visits to an ENT, including a CAT scan of my sinuses, and I now know and understand more about T and H, though even the ENT did not mention H on my first visit.

Since October, the T did get better, even to a point where I didn't need blue or violet noise to fall asleep to for a week or so, but I feel like general everyday ambient noise has kept it going, and contributed to worsening H. Right now, it's the worst it's been the entire time. The ringing is so loud it hurts, I can feel the pressure in my ears from a mouse click, and normal conversation level is loud. I'm still trying to live my life, but all I want to do is stay home with my ears covered. I'm going to work, and it's a typical office environment, so no too loud, but this week it is painful - I just want to stay home, but I don't know how to approach that. Mainly, right now I'm worried I've made things worse since the initial incident by not immediately taking every precaution possible.

Even coming to this forum and other sites for help, I feel like there's so much conflicting information, especially around hyperacusis, that I feel completely lost. My next step is an Audiologist appointment, but could not get one for a few weeks yet.

If you've read this far, thank you, I welcome any advice you may have from personal experience, words of encouragement, etc. I have just joined this forum, so just starting to explore others stories and try and learn more.

 

Use your instinct
If it feels too loud then it's too loud for now , use plugs or muffs for a while until it gets better which can take months or a year or 2

Don't rush it

Sound damage to the inner ear means also nerve damage so the nerves are very sensitive to sound now

It will get better

 

HI @dannyg and welcome to tinnitus talk.

Below is a post that I wrote on Hyperacusis and Habituation, that you might find helpful. At the bottom of the page, are two links that explain Hyperacusis and Tinnitus in more detail. If you are able to print these documents I feel it would be better.
All the best
Michael


Hyperacusis.

Two questions often asked about tinnitus are: How long does it take to habituate? How do I know if I have hyperacusis?

One of the main causes of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise. Quite often though hyperacusis, (sensitivity to sounds) accompanies the condition. This is because the nerves in the auditory pathway have been subjected to noise trauma and thus become highly sensitised. Hyperacusis can be extremely painful. It can cause tinnitus to spike sometimes making it last for days until it settles down again. Within this time the person affected can be in a lot of discomfort.

Music that was once pleasurable to listen to through a home music system or radio is now an ordeal so one prefers not to listen to it. The closing of doors, washing up of kitchen plates and cutlery is enough to send a person running for cover, as it can feel like a pneumatic drill is piercing through your ears and head. It can become such a problem a person is afraid to venture outside their home in fear of road traffic noise sparking an increase in their tinnitus due to their sensitivity to sound.

One of the best ways to treat hyperacusis is by using “sound enrichment”. This can be achieved in many ways but I one of the best to wear white noise generators. Two should be worn to keep your auditory system in balance. The sound level of these devices must be adjusted correctly so as not to cause further irritation to a person’s auditory system, which can make the hyperacusis and tinnitus worse. It is best to always make sure their sound levels are set just below the tinnitus. Wngs are usually worn for up to ten hours a day. Two things are achieved over time.

The hearing system is constantly subjected to low-level non-intrusive white noise, which will help to desensitise it. Secondly, they help the brain to focus less on the tinnitus and push it further into the background making it less noticeable. This form of treatment is also known as TRT.

An alternative to wngs is to use a tabletop sound machine that plays nature sounds. This can be used for sound enrichment to help the healing process of hyperacusis. Again it is best to set the sound level just below the tinnitus. As previously explained sound machines can be very useful at night by the bedside and in the day used to fill in the background ambiance in room.

Treating hyperacusis takes time as there is no quick fix and everyone will respond to treatment differently.
Please bare in mind that a person with tinnitus and hyperacuisis, if the hyperacusis is left untreated sensitivity to sound will always remain a problem. In some cases hyperacusis can get better naturally without using sound enrichment but there is no guarantee.

A word of caution. Some people use earplugs to help suppress external sounds because of their sensitivity to sound. Earplugs are available but should only be used when in noisy surroundings and not to suppress normal every day sounds, as doing so can prevent the healing process of hyperacusis.

Habituating to Tinnitus.

Habituating to tinnitus often seems shrouded in mystery for the more seriously affected people that are in distress and have had to seek help at ENT. It can be particularly difficult for people that are new to tinnitus to comprehend. How does one know when they have habituated to their T and more importantly what does this actually mean?

The following doesn’t apply in every case of tinnitus for there are some people that have large fluctuations in their T and every day can be a different experience. This is one of the most severe forms of tinnitus and medications may be required to help cope with the condition. Habituating to this type of tinnitus is still possible to an extent but does present additional problems.

To others I will say this: You’ll know when you have habituated to your T regardless of whatever treatment you are using via ENT etc as your brain will over time push it further into the background so it becomes less significant, in a similar way to the people that have mild tinnitus. Although your T may be present and on occasions it will spike, over time it will cease to be so much of a problem unless you deliberately focus on it and bring it to the forefront of your mind.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/