Will I Develop Hyperacusis?

Okay, maybe nobody can say for sure, but....

I have noticed that emptying the dishwasher and the sound of plates banging together and silverware banging on a plate hurts my ears...It feels as if it makes something (my eardrum?) jump deep in my ear.

No other sounds hurt my ears besides people talking loudly in a high picted voice close to my ear.

Is it hyperacusis?

 

40% peapole with tinnitus got H to some degree i had it in the first 4 weeks and still got a tiny bit left but in moste cases H is not progressive and wil be really mild and will get better.

But it can also be TTTS (Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome). With it casued by stress towards with the ear i also had in the begining but got alot better after i knew about it.

 

From what you describe it does indicate hypercusis but there are different levels of it and you might not have it that severe. It will most likely calm down and go away. Try not to worry too much about this although I know it isn't easy. If you're able to play some low level relaxing music by your bedside, this will help take your mind off the tinnitus a little and also help desensitize your ears.

 

I keep thinking of that Gaby Olthuis who developed severe hyperacusis (and eventually ended her life via assisted suicide)

 

Most people that develop tinnitus eventually habituate to it and it can go away. Give it time and try not to worry about Gaby Olthuis. If you follow my advice and not use headphones at least for a while and keep away from loud music, you'll be just fine. Read my article again: Tinnitus, A Personal View. Read the document: Positivity and tinnitus. Look at the positive things in your life and focus on them and slowly the negative thoughts will go away.

Michael

 

Why that story even are posted i dont understand.

 

Sandra please try to relax as the worry alone can spike your tinnitus.
You have sensitive ears and maybe mild Hyperacusis but your ears can get use to the sounds again building up the time around the sound just don't avoid it.
Love glynis

 

I didn't find the story trough this forum though....

I actually knew of Gaby's case before i got T. I just thought she was a very rare freak accident and that T was not usually something that could be cronic unless in some rare rare cases......hate to find out i was wrong/oblivious

 

It is rare t get that bad 13-20% of all adults (in denmark) got constant tinnitus ore almost constant. Hell my dad even got it and and i know 2 more there also got it from my familey and 1 of my friends also got it so its pretty normal (its also pretty normal it goes away agin) so dont even think about thst story. And in time most peapole (90-95%) with t dont see it as a problem anymore. It just take time and you wil be habitued soon (probbly before me even tho have good early sighs of that but my changes alot in volume and got 3 driffrent tones so that wil take bit more time for the brain to adapte ) but hang in there and dont think of about negativ thinks just focus on youself (try to get good sleep watch a tv show you like ore annyting that makes you just a bit more relaxed) i also think i saw some where most on this forum leave in 3 month after sigh up(they either habitued ore it goes away)

 

My god.....

Today even voices a little above normal level has hurt my ears, and made me want to withdraw from being social.

Im doomed

Thinking constantly of taking that overdose or run infront of a moving vehicle....my life is spiralling downwards so fast...

 

@TheDanishGirl It feels that way but you're not doomed I assure you. I experienced the same thing and used to ask people to lower their voice as my ears hurt so much. Please try and do as I suggested: if possible, have some low level music playing near you and try to avoid quiet whenever possible. This will help to desensitize your auditory system and allow your brain to takeaway its focus from the tinnitus. It does take time...
Michael

 

Trust me....i avoid quiet whenever i can. Does having the tv on work the same as with low level music?

 

Because you're not at home at the moment the TV is better than nothing. When you go home, I suggest using a "sound machine" that plays "nature sounds" by your bedside and set it to play all night until morning keeping the volume slightly below your tinnitus. More is explained in my Article: Tinnitus, A Personal View. If you click on the link below, you can read my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Having pain and/or fullness in your ears is perfectly normal when you first get Tinnitus. It will go away as your Tinnitus fades. It's been 8 months for me and the ear pain/sensitivity to noise has dropped a lot.
Sandra, if I can give you any advice, it would be to be patient, your ears need time to heal. It will fade, and the sensitivity to noise (clanking dishes, loud voices..ect..) will go away. You need to remember that it can take 1 to 2 years to fully recover. Protect your ears from loud noise and don't listen to music thru headphones and you will be fine. And I mean your Tinnitus will fade to zero.

 

Sandra maybe you should give this board a break for a month or so. I think you are getting terribly worked up emotionally from reading too many horror stories about Tinnitus that never goes away. For a vast majority of people who get Tinnitus it is not permanent. It simply needs time to resolve itself. It can take many months (up to 2 years), but it should fade and you will have your life back!

 

@jjflyman

I want to believe you, by god i want to.......but I know how much abuse i have been putting on my ears by listening to very loud music for many years......If only i had known that i was slowly killing myself.....

I wish i could stop going on this board, but the problem is i do not have much to fill my days with at the moment....i dont have a job and a lot of hobbies, and i can not handle being social more then max. 2 hours a day......that leaves a lot of sparetime......and i am the obsessive type..... once i have got my mind on something (in this case T) then i will go to greath lenghts to study it, its like a drug addicts wanting their fix.

 

last night i set my phone to play nature sounds from the Beltone tinnitus calmer App throughout the night, i set it at low volume, about 25% volume of my phone, is that good?

 

Yes that is good. The idea is to supply your brain and auditory system with sound enrichment. This will help to desensitize your sensitivity to sound. Keep doing this and when you go home buy a sound machine. The phone is okay for now....

 

HI Sandra my name is Carlos I have HT and i get pain and high pitch sounds in my right ear from Dec 2016. I could not hear the TV, Radio, or drive my car. I talked to docs and search on the web like we all have for moths. I broke down 3 moths ago and on that day i told my self this is the last day ill be Depress and fear my HT. I have improve my hearing from NOT plugging my ears and NOT acting negative to the sound. I've been in the dark place 3 months ago but we have to change our mindset for the better. My HT sucks ass but i have wife and son that makes me go forward. And guess what i can watch TV, Radio, and drive my car now. Its taking some time and ill see how far ill get.

 

Have gone home, but have yet to buy a sound machine, but I have used my phone and Relaxion app throughout every night and my noise sensitivity has definitely gone down....is it still there but milder. Now I can eat without having to be very careful that my silverware don't knock to hard on the plate and high voices dont really hurt my ears anymore.

Thank you for the advice!

 

You are welcome @TheDanishGirl When you're able to get a sound machine I recommend an Oasis S-650. You will realize the benefit.
I hope you continue to make improvement. I strongly advise you not to listen to music through headphones even at low volume. It is your choice but I warn you, that you risk making your tinnitus worse.
Keep well.
Michael

 

I will do my very best to lay of the headphones...Have not used them in about 3 weeks, but it is kind of like an alcohol laying off the booze. My headphone use was/is kind of an addiction, my escape from the world around me.

That sound machine is a bit expensive for me (am unemployed) but when i can afford it i will look into buying it.

 

@TheDanishGirl I was also addicted to headphones that is the reason I ended up with tinnitus. I have not used them in 21 years. Ask yourself this question whenever you feel the need to use your headphones: When my tinnitus and hyperacusis was so loud I felt like I couldn't cope and didn't know what to do. Do I want to risk feeling like that again or even worse?

 

I feel my H is getting worse

Actually i feel my biggest problem right now is H, not T.....because H prevents me from doing much socially.

 

HI @TheDanishGirl
Your hyperacusis and tinnitus will fluctuate a lot and at times will feel as though one or both are getting worse but this is not usually the case. Try not to be overly concerned although I know it's not easy as you're the one going through it. Carry on using sound enrichment during the day (if possible ) but especially at night, keeping the volume below the tinnitus.

All the best
Michael

 

Sandra please take the advice that so many have given you here. It's good advice. I like you have developed T just recently (Dec 2016), so it's fairly new for me still. Early on I felt very much like you. I felt that my life was over and that there was no way I was going to live with this the rest of my life (I'm 53 btw) . I thought of ending it all daily. It was a struggle. Some days, it still is, but I have found that time is a great healer. I still have occasional spikes in my T and some days can be hard to deal with, but you have to carry on. Nobody knows what the future holds and one day your T may simple vanish. It has happened for others, it could happen for you or me, or anybody else here. My T is better today than it was at the beginning, and whether that's the actual T or just my getting used to it, the results are the same. It doesn't have the power over my life that it once had. I refuse to allow it that kind of control ever again. Hang in there, better days are coming.

 

Yes. That is how it went for me, and yes, it sometimes remains a bigger issue than just tinnitus. Its perverse isn't it. people here suffer dreadfully with tinnitus, and people like me look and think "you lucky b.... if that's all you have to deal with". Having said that, since my hyperacusis has waned, I've become more aware of the tinnitus, maybe because I didn't deal with it before as the H was so devastating (emotive word, but that's what it was) or because the seemingly louder tinnitus is an outcome that stems from whatever improved the hyperacusis.

See the informative/important post by @lymebite at the H forum and you may get some idea of what is happening to you. For the time-being, put your headphones away.

 

Headphones have been put away

My H really varies in severity, some days it is quite bad and others, like yesterday, it is very mild.

Hopefully thats a good sign.

 

Smart move...

 

Mines been like that for nearly four years now, but overall, its improved.