I work the night shift in a supermarket but have been off for the past 2-3 months after a fire alarm went off at work which set the pain side of this off ( stabbing, burning and fullness )

Over this past few weeks the pain has subsided and although I still get intermittent mild stabbing on an average day, things have definitely improved.

I really don't want to take any chances so I'm seriously thinking about stopping work altogether. Our mortgage is paid off so I don't need to worry about that side of things but it'll be a bit of a struggle with only my wife's wages.

The alternative is going back on reduced hours wearing the ear defenders in the picture as protection.

Do you think the risk's outweigh the job ?

I’m afraid it’s never going to get better. I always had bad feeling over the years that’s something bad like this would happen to me and it did. I’ve been thinking for a long time that the constant pain of my own voice literally hurting my brain is going to be permanent. I’m scared to go to a doctor and I’m not getting better on my own, just pain and headache, headaches almost every day and it hurts and burns my brain when I talk. Is this pain from speaking permanent forever? I have no hope anymore of this improving anymore. I’ve been in pain for months. I really think I’m just gonna be in pain for the rest of my life from my own voice and my brain burning like fire, just because I had a bad acoustic trauma a year and a half ago. I’m living a nightmare. My brain and nerves feels so inflamed for months now. I am also scared of taking clomipramine because of the terrible permanent side effects I heard like PSSD. I know they wouldn’t prescribe me that anyway at Kaiser they are strict. and I don’t know what else the doctor would even prescribe me for this. I feel like I need a really strong medication to calm my nerves down or else there’s no hope. This condition also fucked up my neck and made me think I also have tensor typani syndrome, I take muscle relaxer & gabapentin and naproxen/ ibuprofen from the doctor, but nothing helps 100%. I haven’t gone back to the doctor about this because I’m scared. I want to feel normal again

I remember there was a specific clinical study done that was published on NIH (National Institutes of Health) about how clomipramine improved the effects of hyperacusis. I vaguely remember there being control groups, and people reporting how it went. Tried to find it in Google and there was nothing, it seems to be deleted entirely. I need this article to show it to my primary doctor.

Two months ago I 23M was at a shooting range for my friends bachelor party (have never done it before). We shot an AK-47 and my hearing muffs had an imperfect seal, I could feel a deep ringing in my ears and had mild tinnitus and pain afterwards but it went away, the tinnitus immediately stopped, I went out as normal, went to a loud bar, got on a flight and loudly listened to music all over the course of 24 hours.

Then the next day I noticed this warmth, fullness, painful almost pressure in my ear. Now whenever i'm exposed to loud noise it returns. I can't pop my ears, they always have this dull pain. It's primarily in the right ear but weirdly can drift to the left (could be damage, could be a nerve component I have no idea) I have been aggresively babying my ear, but the only thing that truly makes a difference is acupuncture.

It has slightly gotten better over two months, but it has been reagravated thrice and the pain has been significant. I live in a city where noise is a constant. After the third reaggravation, i'm almost feeling it when I speak. I rarely get tinnitus and I can work mostly normally (quiet office) but I can't even go into a cafe without the fear that it might reaggravate my ear. Anywhere with music is an instant no for me. I miss normal life so much, I used to love concerts and I'm worried this is permanent. I have exceptional normal hearing tests, and normal extended frequency hearing with a normal looking ear drum.

I am getting an MRI prescribed by my ENT in two days so hopefully will get some clarity through that avenue. Also have been a lifelong anxiety sufferer and OCD runs in my family (fascinating that this appears to unequally effect people with anxiety & OCD!).

Does anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? It sometimes feel like I really have nowhere to turn. I'm going to seek an otologist as well.

Sound trauma happened last Wednesday, certain sounds make me flinch and sound too loud but not regular sounds. Right ear has a dull ache that goes down to jaw and my jaws sometimes feel like when you eat something sour and your jaws clench but on a very low level like almost not noticeable. Could this be noxacusis? I’m terrified. Been depressed for the past 5 days because it’s not going away.

I don’t understand why I read that 40% of tinnitus sufferers have hyperacusis but only 1 in 50,000 people have hyperacusis. The numbers aren’t adding up, or coming close to it.

What am I missing here?

Hello all,

I'm new to this group, but I'm hoping I can get some advice on the best options out there for this issue... Although it is a bit complex.

I have bilateral Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome. A quick explanation, since I know this isn't a group specifically for this condition: Basically, the temporal bone running along the roof of my inner ear is so thin that it's opened up and created a "third window" above both Superior Semicircular Canals and the Tegmen Tympani region. Basically my inner ear and dura (outer sack of the brain) are more friendly than they should be, which creates a whole list of symptoms that affect my balance and hearing. One of those being hyperacusis.

I had a craniotomy last year to resurface the bone above the Superior Canal on my left side and reinforce the area over the mastoid air cells to prophylactically protect the dura from sinking or getting caught and damaged due to the lack of a strong barrier. Some symptoms have improved.. some have not... And with my right side remaining untouched, it's still an ongoing issue either way, really.

So, to get to the question:

Does anyone have any recommendations for earplugs that can help lower the sound of my environment while also having as little occlusion effect as possible?

I've tried the Loop Engage and the Loop Experience earplugs, but the autophony and hyperacusis is virtually the same with either one. My neurotologist has told me to check out musician earplugs, specifically custom ones that sit deeper in the ear canal. But I'm curious if anyone has actually tried those, spent the money, and if they were actually worth it?

I understand that it's probably virtually impossible to completely get rid of the occlusion effect with earplugs, but I need to find something that can make things a bit more manageable, especially at work. My voice is so loud in my head it causes vertigo and physically makes me feel ill. I subconsciously end up speaking so quietly that no one can hear me, or I end up mute and using sign language to communicate.

Normally, I don't need earplugs. The autophony is of course present in my unoperated right ear at all times, but is not so severe it's unbearable. But when I need earplugs.... It's kind of a nightmare. Lately, I've been saying I wish I just had a volume button that allowed me to turn down the noise on both the inside and outside of my head whenever I needed it. 😂

All of the horror stories on here of people getting MRI and tympometry tests making their condition worse are so sad. I’m so sorry research and knowledge about our condition is somewhat lacking in the healthcare system. It’s truly awful.

What are your guys experiences with otoscopes? Worsen condition for anybody? Anybody find answers and help?

What symptoms do you have and are they debilitating? Is your noxacusis getting worse or has it gotten better? Do you protect your ears 24/7? How do you work and provide for your family? Take care of your kids? I have many questions if anyone is willing to answer.

Ear plugs irritate my ears pretty bad so I’m wondering what the best over the ear headphones to protect my hearing would be? Nothing too bulky if possible please and nothing that squeezes my head too hard. Thank you everyone.

Hi everyone I’m sorry I know I’ve posted a couple of times but I’m just going through it at the moment and need support. I developed what I believe to be either hyperacusis or noxacusis or maybe even TTTS on Wednesday evening after my step child screamed very loud next to me and it hurt my ears. I’ve had tinnitus 2 years prior to this. My symptoms right now are my head feels kinda full and fuzzy, my tinnitus is spiked, my ears pop when I swallow sometimes, and the most concerning is when I heard certain noises in the higher pitched range like my daughter laughing or a zipper hitting against a wall, the chain to my chain lock on my door hitting the wall and even birds chirping it jars me and doesn’t feel good to my ears. I can’t tell if it’s pain I’m feeling or not to be honest and I know that sounds stupid or maybe I’m in denial but I can’t tell if it sounds louder and just jars me or if it’s pain and that’s what jars me a bit. It only lasts for a moment during the sound and then it’s back to normal. Low pitched sounds and normal noises I don’t think are bothering me or even sound louder. Is this noxacusis? I am terrified if it is. I’ve been depressed and in bed for 3 days, I can’t function, can’t eat, I feel constant fear and stress and anxiety and it feels like my life is over. All I can think about are all the horror stories of people committing suicide and not being able to be with their children because of it. If I can’t be with my child then my life is over, as most mothers would feel. The fear of this is literally so bad that I’ve wanted to give up. And I know that sounds stupid probably because I don’t have it that bad but if I do have it then it’s likely to get that bad right? I have to be able to take care of my daughter. People told me in my past post to rest my ears and I am. And I will protect them as well and have been. But do I have Hyperacusis or the painful one? My right ear might ache a bit. But I also might be imagining it from how stressed I am. Please please. Anyone help and just talk me through this.

Going to try to keep this short and sweet. I've had mild OCD, anxiety, and mild tinnitus my entire life. One week ago, friends blaring loud music in the car, nobody else seemed to be bothered by it except for me. The next day, my tinnitus had gotten worse. Throughout this past week, I've became sensitive to high-pitched noises. I get a headache and ear pain and I experience a fluttering of my tensor tympani when I hear the high pitched noises. I have a history of misophonia (which I have worked through quite a bit), and have had constant problems with runny noses/clogged sinuses my entire life. ENT was extremely dismissive of my problems, looked in my ear nose and throat (not with cameras) and said I was fine and sent me to get an MRI (scheduled soon). This pain and worsened tinnitus is only happening in one of my ears. I don't suspect any hearing loss, im terrified to get an audiogram due to horror stories of people saying they make them worse. My mother has otosclerosis if that matters. I think that the pain in my tensor tympani so maybe I don't have hyperacusis, just an overworked tensor tympani since this incident, paired with the anxiety headaches from the stress of going through this subreddit. Is it getting worse or is it my anxiety and the over checking that's killing me. Told my doctor I thought I had TTTS and she gave me methocarbamol since yesterday I think it's helping a little bit. I guess im just here asking if anybody thinks that I have hyperacusis or TTTS or should I try anxiety medication? Thank you for anyone that reads this, Im going to try to be more present in this subreddit for anyone who needs a listening ear.

Note - I have been able to move my tensor tympani on my own my whole life. I can do it by closing my eyes, opening my jaw, and just trying to do it. Doc also prescribed me bupropion but everyone says it's otoxic so I am going to try to ask something else. Could all of this just be anxiety induced? Lol so much for short and sweet sorry guys thank you if you read this.

this is a stupid question because I already know what the answer is lol.

I used to be a runner. Like, I'd wake up at the ass crack of dawn every day and run a 5k while listening to kendrick lamar. it's cliche, but it really did help to clear my mind and just deal with the little inconveniences life threw at me.

I went outside for a second this morning, and the air felt exactly the same as it did when I'd go for runs before developing hyperacusis. bright, crisp, invigorating. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to go back to the trail by my house and run like my life depended on it.

This condition is lame and stupid as fuck. I'm so fucking angry that this sorry excuse of a "life" is the lot I've been given. fucking hell.

Pain Hyperacusis

I oddly enough can tolerate digital audio without restrictions. iPad, iPhone, computer, tv, etc. At first I wasn’t able to at all for even a second but now I can. But 2 minutes of leaf blowers with dual protection and I’m probably burning the rest of the day.

Anyone else have this? Just curious

Not fully on topic but please i need some opinions

Triggered from my step daughter’s single high pitch scream 2 days ago. I already had mild tinnitus from listening to music too loud for years. I don’t think sounds seem louder, but my ears are ringing worse and sudden sounds are startling me. High pitched noises are uncomfortable to my ears and sends a shock through me but don’t necessarily hurt like what is described with noxacusis. I’m probably in denial but does this sound like hyperacusis?

I am writing this in concern for my husband. Last year he retired after being a union carpenter for 31 years. He would have worked till age 62 but just couldn’t deal with his tinnitus/hyperacusis anymore. He’s been dealing with this for 12 years and it’s definitely gotten progressively worse. He can hardly do anything and rarely leaves the house. The depression is real. He is seeing a psychiatrist next week to help with that.
One of his big issues is feeling useless. He loves carpentry and yard work. Hates sitting around. He can’t mow or do anything at this point even when he doubles up on his protection. I’m reaching out to see if anyone has come across quieter power tools or yard tools? He did find a quieter shop vac that he can use with double protection but is useless if there’s nothing to clean up.
I just want to give him something to keep him busy and have him feel like he’s contributing again.
Thank you all in advance

Hello everyone, I have had mild tinnitus for around 2 years now and for the most part it hasn’t bothered me and I’ve lived a normal life. I have a small family with my fiancé, 4 year old daughter and 2 step kids (who we have half of the time). Everything was ok until about 2 weeks ago when I noticed my tinnitus seemed like it was spiked a bit and noises seemed to bother me and be uncomfortable at certain pitches. I didn’t think much of it to be honest because I assumed I was just having a spike and everything would be ok. I didn’t know anything about hyperacusis or noxacusis before this, mostly because I didn’t have it so seeing it in passing on the tinnitus subreddit etc I never payed much attention to it. About 4 days ago my spike actually went down. Then on Wednesday, 2 days ago my youngest step child let out an ear piercing scream next to me when my fiancé tickled her. It hurt my ears very badly when it happened which at first I thought was normal because it was so high pitched, but my fiancé says it didn’t hurt his ears. The pain mostly subsided but my ears stayed aching slightly and it caused an immediate spike in my tinnitus but I also felt like my ears were more sensitive or something. That night I was alone all night and it wasn’t until yesterday morning when my little girl came back from her grandmothers that I realized that when she talks somewhat loud and there’s a certain pitch in her voice that it feels uncomfortable to my ears. I’m not sure if I would say it hurts, like what you hear about with noxacusis because it doesn’t feel that painful but it’s not comfortable, I also noticed it happens with anything that is a certain high pitch. And now I’m terrified. I’ve spent the past 2 days crying and in bed unable to function. My ears aren’t even that bad I don’t think but I see all of the stories of people who can’t even be around their children because of this condition, who can’t live a normal life and be with their family and it was torn a piece of my soul out. I am severely depressed. It feels like I was handed a death sentence. My fiancé is very supportive and tells me everything will be ok but I don’t believe it. What if it gets worse? What if I can’t be with my little girl? My life would be over at that point. There’s so many mixed things about whether I should protect my ears all the time or not. My house isn’t quiet, if I were to try to protect my ears from all loud sounds I would have to wear earbuds 24/7 almost because I have young kids. I have not been able to eat in 2 days, my stomach is messed up from all of the fear and stress I’m feeling. I have never felt this bad before except maybe a year ago when I had akathisia from a migraine cocktail at the ER but that’s a whole different story. What do I do? And how many people does this turn severe for? Is it possible it will always be mild and never be severe to the point I can only whisper and not be around my child? I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m scared of noise, I’m scared to live, I’m scared I’m doomed. Yesterday I was very suicidal, that’s how scared I am and how depressed I am. The only thing keeping me together today is my fiancé taking off work and sending our child to her grandmothers to be with me and for my ears to rest a bit in hopes maybe it will help. My ears just don’t feel right. I can tell they are damaged. I have no job but eventually I will need to work, what if I can’t? There’s so many unknowns and I’m so confused. Anyone please help. How many of you have had this for many years and it’s mild while having kids?

About six months ago I listened to music that was too loud, got tinnitus and some sound sensitivity. First I was worried about tinnitus, then got used to it after about 3 months.

Recently I became more sensitive to sounds: announcements on public buses, various noises in the streets. During an urban vacation I started using earplugs in noisy streets and public transit (maybe should have done that more often). In the last week the sensitivity increased, listening to people talking loudly became annoying, sound of utensils and plates became much worse, started using earplugs in streets with buses (but not in a quiet street). Small dogs barking became unbearable.

Also in the last months I started playing an alto recorder (a kind of flute). Now playing almost always in earplugs, but in the beginning was without.

I'm thinking if its playing the music or the street sounds that made me more sensitive. It would be upsetting to give up this hobby I just started

I am not well educated on some technical terms, so if I miss something please feel free to let me know/ clarify /correct me.

I am struggling with both loudness and pain hyperacusis. I protect myself basically by wearing earplugs all day, expect when I’m home alone or sleeping.

So, Wearing the earplugs prevents sound pressure from hitting my ear drum/ the nerves where Nox creates burning sensation. The attenuation from earplugs prevents me from experiencing pain. I’ve read that Experiencing a setback from a loud exposure can worsen Nox, like become even more sensitive to sound even when the setback has passed.

People using clomipramine to treat Nox have seen some success. My question is what is clomipramine doing? Is it healing where the pain is felt or blocking the pain from being felt? And when you get to a state where sound isn’t so painful and you’re able to not use earplugs, is the sound entering your ear still damaging but not being felt? When you lessen your dosage, will you start to feel the pain from all the sound you’ve been exposed to?

I just downloaded Reddit and I never stopped to think that there would be so many conversations about hyperacusis. I’m glad to talk about it. This is not a succes story because I was healed physically.. but because I was healed mentally. When it’s chronic.. that’s what’s left for you to be working on.
( I do want to clarify that if you think you got it because of an undiagnosed underlying illness / condition please go to your doctor first )

It’s a long story.. but I had tinnitus since I was 17. And it got terribly worse when I was 22 years old. It happened because of loud music. When I was 22 I left the discotheque in Turkey on holiday and every sound was so extremely painful already within one hour in there. The music was really loud. Louder than in The Netherlands where I’m from.

I left almost deaf-like and with extremely loud buzzing, multiple times louder than I already had chronically for years. Unfortunately.. this night changed me for ever. The buzzing didn’t go back to normal and the hyperacusis didn’t fully go away. Even my own voice is still painful to this day. I don’t know anyone who understands hyperacusis, I don’t even know how to explain what the pain actually is.

First month after this I barely slept and that even send me into a Brief reactive psychosis. I didn’t want to live anymore like that. I couldn’t imagine life continuing like this.. I couldn’t sleep, the buzzing was so loud and I was too anxious to be able to. I remember being so helpless because I wanted to escape reality so bad but instead I stayed awake for almost a whole month.

Thank God I survived this period of my life. Now 6 years later I still got it every second of my life, but I’ve learned to let it be and listen to it without hating myself or my life or regretting my decisions to a level I have panick attacks. Sometimes it’s still really hard, but I am functioning, working and sleeping again. That’s something I will never take for granted, because I really thought there was no such thing as life after this. But there is, things will get better. Your mind will adapt. But it takes time and hard mental work.

What helped me was to keep busy and just do things I liked even though it felt super pointless. I did it depressed. I went shopping depressed I went to family dinners depressed. I started a new job depressed. But I forced myself.. and along the way I was healing and forgiving myself..
Tinnitus Therapy helped me aswell. I do sometimes wonder.. am I just distracted or fully healed? Something to discover.

I just want to say to anyone who’s struggling or thinking a happy life is not possible anymore.. It really is possible. Keep going, hold on.. it will all be less heavy soon. Just don’t give up! Because I almost did and I am glad I didn’t. I also didn’t believe comments like this when I was in the middle of it but believe me time heals more than you think🙏🏻❤️

My hearing has gotten so bad even rain annoys me and I am worried I'm going to get sharp pain in my ears because the rain is going to constantly annoy me and flare up my ears I can't make any meaningful progress because there has been fucking construction for 7 months so I've just stayed at this point for 7 months I would love to try medication but with a lot of things it's always a stomach issue if the medication has a side effect for stomach issues I am always going to get it I got it with clomi and antibiotics so I feel like I don't really have a way out besides losing my fucking mind