Working Out with Pain and Loudness Hyperacusis

Hello guys, I need some advice. I have severe pain hyperacusis and I’d say moderate loudness hyperacusis, along with moderate tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus and TTTS.

I was wondering if working out would be a bad idea? I’m not trying to really lift anything heavy, but I’d like to try doing push-ups, pull-ups and pretty much body weight exercises.

I also want to start running. Anybody have any experience? Will it worsen me or not?

I’m already homebound, but I can manage to do these at my house and perhaps walk around my yard.

Thanks for your help.

 

I suffer from relatively nasty tinnitus. I work out quite a lot (the gym and running). No negative effects of whatsoever. Should be the same for you, because despite different symptoms, it's all nerve damage in the end.

I like to believe that nerve injure can heal a little over time if you live healthy and don't make it worse. Training is vital to this philosophy.

 

It’s all very individual, so you’re going to have to test it out for yourself. See what kind of reaction you get. Since you’re dealing with pain hyperacusis, I suggest you keep your workout sessions very brief when you begin. Maybe a 10-15 minute workout session to start with and do only burpees. Burpees is the type of exercise you’re looking for as it’s a full body movement which integrates cardiovascular training and builds muscles in your legs, glutes, core, chest, arms, and shoulders. And you can do them home. Try one 10 minute session and if you’re feeling okay after 24-48 hours, then continue, albeit slowly. Keep increasing the duration of your workout sessions every 3-5 mins or so while monitoring any negative reactions you might experience as the duration goes up.

If you’re going to do burpees, do them on some rubber flooring or a carpet.
Also reminder that proper form > how many reps you can do. Speed means nothing.

 

I have tinnitus and pain hyperacusis and if anything, exercising has helped. Just need to be careful with letting down weights or anything that would be obviously loud.

With just bodyweight exercises though it should only provide benefit. Some people do report temporary louder tinnitus while/after exercising.

Try it out slowly and see how you feel after then just add more in slowly like you would training normally anyway.

 

Thanks for the well put advice.

 

Exercise is never a bad idea, unless you're nursing an injury or fighting an infection.

In the case of tinnitus and hyperacusis, as you have identified, it is simply a matter of which exercise you choose to do, to avoid worsening.

I suppose "heavy" is a relative term, but yes, I understand lifting free-weights contributed to the deterioration of @Brian Newman's condition.

I lift light free weights, but heavier machine weights, and haven't had any problems (touch wood) to date.

This is the exact protocol I adopted to return to exercise after developing severe tinnitus and hyperacusis in 2009: Push-ups, Sit-ups and running around my local park.

The likelihood is that your tinnitus will be temporarily elevated after the workout.

You may also experience pulsatile tinnitus during and/or after the workout (for a couple of hours). I know of people who both have and don't have tinnitus, who encounter pulsatile tinnitus during and after workouts; it doesn't seem that uncommon, especially in those of us with compromised hearing.

In any case, none of these exercises alone will do you any harm.

The only thing I would advise against is the compulsion to wear earplugs during the running for example.

Obviously as a severe hyperacusis sufferer, you're more likely to fixate on the sound of your own footfall, or become paranoid about the reverb travelling from your legs to your head, but trust me, the occlusion with earplugs in will be much worse.

If by some small chance you do find the sound of your own running too disturbing, you can always invest in an exercise bike, which would be fine to use with earplugs in, due to the lack of any vibrational contact with the ground.

For the record (as a moderate hyperacusis sufferer), I use both a cross-trainer at the gym (with earplugs), and an exercise bike at home (without earplugs) and both have been absolutely fine... except for the temporary elevated and pulsatile tinnitus I mentioned before, of course.

 

This was well put! Thank you for the descriptive response.

 

Yeah well that started my ears changing after 6 years of stable tinnitus and really mild hyperacusis from a heavy deadlift. I probably still have a perilymph fistula or a CSF leak. Then the noise damage happened. If I didn’t get the injury from the deadlift, but only noise, I would still be working out heavy at home. I got a really rare case and combo of stupid things.

 

Just want to add my 2 cents. I basically live to work out these days. I lift heavy and intensely, both compounds and isolations. I even do neck training where I attach weights to a harness I wear on my head. I've been at it for 2.5 of the 3 years I've had tinnitus.

My tinnitus will spike when my blood pressure goes up, but after working out it's normal, sometimes even a little lower. I would highly recommend it. Running as well.

EDIT:

Just to be clear, bodyweight exercises will be good too, didn't mean to insinuate you have to lift weights.

 

I had to stop doing my sit-ups, push-ups and exercise as it spiked my tinnitus and didn't seem to go back to baseline like everyone else here. Something about blood rushing to my head. Not being able to run is killing me. When my blood pressure increases, my tinnitus seems to start worsening. But that's me and I seem to be an extreme minority.

 

Hello, I got tinnitus and hyperacusis after the COVID-19 vaccine.

In my case it is different, because exercise does worsen my tinnitus and my hyperacusis. The doctors have told me that my case is very similar to a long COVID-19, where sport increases the symptoms of long COVID-19.

Therefore, I think that depending on the origin of your hyperacusis and tinnitus, exercise may or may not be good for you.

As you have been told above, what you should do is try, and do an adapted training and progressively increase the volume and intensity of the exercise.

I hope you can do it! Movement is life!

Little by little I am reincorporating sport into my life, I am progressively listening to my body a lot. As I told you above, the important thing is that you adapt the intensity and volume of physical exercise to your condition, listen to your body and, based on that, continue physical activity more or less intensely.

Best wishes.