Hyperacusis: When Everyday Sounds Are Too Loud, Annoying, and Painful 

I am a 72 year old female and was diagnosed with hyperacusis several years ago. I’ve been dealing with ear pain associated with loud noises for about 15 years. The pain I get from being around loud noises (tolerable to most people) starts in my ears and later develops into a headache, toothache and neck pain, generally down one side of my head. Loud noises include clanging dishes, cars or trucks without mufflers, screaming children, any equipment or tools that generate noise, which is just about all of them, grocery carts banging, people talking loudly, airplanes, movie theaters, musical instruments, and just about everything tolerable to the general population. I’ve tried not wearing earplugs out in public, but many times I have to wear them, especially if I’m still in pain from previous events. It seems like if I have several loud noise events close together, the pain is worse and lasts longer. If I have enough time for the pain to go away, I can tolerate an event better. I was also tested for my hearing level and was told I have excellent hearing, comparable to an 18 year old. I do not have tinnitus. I was told I should try sound therapy but I’m concerned it could make my hyperacusis worse or even bring on tinnitus. I guess I’m commenting on my situation to give you and your experts more information to add to your existing data and that it might help others in some way. Thank you for all the research you are doing and I hope someday you will find a cure for this debilitating illness.

There are other reasons for hyperacusis that seems overlooked. For example a virus can damage the ear~ I contracted a “regular” virus causing sinus chest congestion but no earache or infection. Nor did I have ear infections ever. The virus cleared in normal timeline without the need for antibiotics. The virus damaged both my ears. The ENT could see the ear drums inability to recover from a puff air. Explaining it’s like the volume control is broken. The inner ear continues to vibrate long after the puff of air stopped. It is painful. Being in sustained loud environments causes my ears to squelch like a microphone that gets too close to the receiver. Loud sudden sounds hurt and my ears take a while to recover. If I stay in a loud environment or are too clise to a very loud sound I’ve been told I could completely loose my hearing. I have ear plugs w/a sound dampening filter I wear in environments that are too loud. A basketball game, a loud speaker talking, many people talking in a confined space as an example. I have a Chile who developed hyperacusis of the brain. Hearing is very good however, sudden loud sounds are amplified by his brain causing/ affecting a neurological cascade of side effects. A dish clanking, a sudden hand clap, a motorcycle muffler that is loud, a door slamming etc… and this is from a brain injury from oxygen deprivation caused by a doctor ~ so it’s well documented areas of the brain that were all seriously injured. Sound therapy was painful & unsuccessful. Future information would be helpful addressing people and investigating treatments and their likelihood of helping for the various ways this is acquired. Thank you.

If you have Hyperacusis some people say always protect your ears at all costs with ear plugs, and don't ever use sound therapy, and others say use sound therapy but don't use ear protection for normal day sounds... Obviously in loud places use protection. Example being here: "Wearing hearing protection making hyperacusis worse is a bullshit lie made up by TRT enthusiasts. You absolutely MUST protect your ears and be in silence to recover. Sound therapy makes hyperacusis worse. STOP doing sound therapy, PROTECT your ears as much as possible, AVOID loud environments at all costs, and most importantly give yourself time. The reason your hyperacusis is getting worse is because you aren't protecting enough".

What's the point of a test, if I tell my doctor I wear earplugs all the time I'm pretty sure he'll know. A test would be useful if there were specific effective treatments, to know which one to choose according to the results. I'm glad there's research going on about this issue, but rat studies don't seem to me as the answer. Humans are way more complex, plus they can articulate what's happening. I hope in the future we'll have more info based on clinical human cases. I can volunteer as a test subject 😊

Please provide HELP. A cure or a way to get poeple life back. It's horrible to deal with it. Please 😢😢

i have it and it is HORRIBLE.

one day weather was very cold my mother (46) went to a family function on bike. there was some loud music. this day was unusually cold. after coming back home my mother fainted. then for 2 days she felt very weak and could not get up. after admitting her to hospital we did MRI and all suggested tests. she was not able to hear in one ear. DOctor said their is some blockage in a vein between ear and brain. now she is continuously hearing weird noise in that one ear. and having problem due to normal sounds also. what should we do and what is the best treatment for this problem? Please suggest