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Hypersensitivity to noise - what's the reason?

Messages
71
Nowadays I am rarely in the company of more than one person but in the past when I was in a group and it split into two conversations, that did my head in as I could not listen to one conversation and shut the other out.
I have the same problem with 2 or more people speaking. I can't understand either. 2 different radio stations in a restaurant is intolerable- I have to leave. I can't think at all if there is loud music or talk. otoh I can listen to music at home or watch some tv if I'm not too tired.
 
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bthompsonjr1993

Senior Member
Messages
176
TINNITUS RETRAINING THERAPY. I had HORRIBLE sensitivity to sound, and tinnitus retraining therapy SAVED me. The sensitivity was so bad that I was literally on the verge of ending it all, I thought there was no hope, I thought there was no chance it would work, but I had to give it a shot, and it WORKED. I highly, highly, highly recommend it to all CFS patients suffering with sound sensitivity (hyperacusis). It works for all types of sound sensitivity, no matter the cause. It is the only CFS symptom that I have ever been able to improve. If sound sensitivity is something you are struggling with, please please please try tinnitus retraining therapy. I did it without spending a dollar. All I did was listen to this video


in headphones at a level so low that if I turned it any lower it would not be audible. And I listened to that for every moment of the day that I could, and then when I would get used to it and forget I was even listening to it, I would turn that up one, and I just continued that process, but then when I was up to a reasonable volume on that video, I switched over to this video


and did the same thing with that video, starting from a barely audible volume and working my way up. I spoke with an audiologist about this, and she said that it is all about retraining the brain's involuntary emotional response to sound. We need to re-teach our brains what a normal level of sound is, and this is how we do it. The more noise you can expose yourself to without freaking out, the better. My rule was that I would spend as little time in silence every day as humanly possible. The more time you spend in silence, the more you allow it to progress. I was so severe that I couldn't tolerate the low, barely audible whirr of the AC in my place. Now I am pretty much back to normal.

If you have any questions, please ask me, I would love to help in any way I can.
 
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Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
If you have any questions, please ask me, I would love to help in any way I can.

Hi @bctjr1993,

Thank you so much for your post. I too am dealing with HORRIBLE hyperacusis. I've had it for many years, but has gotten so much worse since taking an ototoxic drug on Feb. 3 of this year. I don't have much energy at the moment, but I do have some questions.

I'll start out with my main question: Did TRT actually do anything to affect any tinnitus you may have had? Or did it only affect your hyperacusis? I didn't have tinnitus before Feb. 3, but now have a fairly severe case of it. I'm looking for anything that might help, and I'm hoping TRT might help with that as well as with hyperacusis. -- Thanks!
 

bthompsonjr1993

Senior Member
Messages
176
Hi @bctjr1993,

Thank you so much for your post. I too am dealing with HORRIBLE hyperacusis. I've had it for many years, but has gotten so much worse since taking an ototoxic drug on Feb. 3 of this year. I don't have much energy at the moment, but I do have some questions.

I'll start out with my main question: Did TRT actually do anything to affect any tinnitus you may have had? Or did it only affect your hyperacusis? I didn't have tinnitus before Feb. 3, but now have a fairly severe case of it. I'm looking for anything that might help, and I'm hoping TRT might help with that as well as with hyperacusis. -- Thanks!

Hi Wayne,

Yes, it has certainly helped both my hyperacusis and my tinnitus. The treatment was actually designed for tinnitus, but it was later found to also be effective for hyperacusis, regardless of the cause of the hyperacusis. I can still hear my tinnitus if I intentionally focus on it, but I never find myself accidentally noticing it, whereas before the TRT, it was so loud that I felt like my ears were vibrating and I couldn’t believe that nobody else could hear it.

n my opinion, based on your symptoms, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is easily the most logical course of action for you. Do not be discouraged if the version I described in my post above does not get you fantastic results, that is my own makeshift version, which worked for me. I recommend doing a google search for audiologist offering TRT for hyperacusis in your area. And if you can’t find anyone, you can simply look at this book by the creator of TRT himself, it will tell you everything you need to know about it.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I can still hear my tinnitus if I intentionally focus on it, but I never find myself accidentally noticing it, whereas before the TRT, it was so loud that I felt like my ears were vibrating and I couldn’t believe that nobody else could hear it.

Thanks @bctjr1993, very helpful. -- I can't tell you how encouraging it is to hear how you went from a very loud tinnitus to one that is almost imperceptible. It give me hope, something that has oftentimes been hard to come by these past five months.​
 

bthompsonjr1993

Senior Member
Messages
176
Thanks @bctjr1993, very helpful. -- I can't tell you how encouraging it is to hear how you went from a very loud tinnitus to one that is almost imperceptible. It give me hope, something that has oftentimes been hard to come by these past five months.​

That makes me very happy to hear, Wayne. That is the reason I couldn't wait to make that post, you and everyone enduring this need to know that there is great reason to hope for this symptom. If you have hiccups along the way, please let me know, the key is patience and persistence. True, full TRT with patience and persistence has a VERY high success rate, regardless of the cause of the tinnitus and hyperacusis.