Hi all, I was wondering if some of you have been dealing with hyperacusis? Even though I have a moderate-severe hearing loss in my meniere's ear, I suffer from horrible hyperacusis. It is so difficult to be anywhere where it is somewhat loud. My ear feels like the noise is super amplified and exacerbates all of my other meniere symptoms. I read on Dr. Hain's website that sometimes specialized ear tubes can help. He has a great flow chart for hyperacusis management which I plan to take to my ENT at my next visit. Here is the link if anyone would like to read it. http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/hearing/hyperacusis.htm I would love to hear what anyone else has experienced. Thanks
I have it, too. Ironically, I just now am home early from an evening out, because someone was playing the flute at an event, and it hit some frequency that was just piercing in my bad ear. I now have a mild migraine. Do you have MAV and/or migraines? I get both, and I am starting to suspect my hyperacusis is related. I can tolerate going to baseball games with ear plugs. I also wear them at movies. I avoid most restaurants because they are too loud and the clanking dishes are particularly bad. The ear plugs are no good there because the sound of my own chewing is amplified. I have another kind of hyperacusis, or at least I think that's what it is, that is reactions to changes in air pressure. Even going down a long steep hill, can make my ear get stuffed for days and exacerbate my other symptoms. Air travel is out of the question--the last time I went it was a disaster. If I have to go above 500 ft. I wear these ear plugs (https://www.alpinehearingprotection.com/earplugs/flyfit/), and that helps as long as I do the changes slowly. I was able to take a train with them, too. Thank you for the link.
I used to have this really bad. One thing to keep in mind is that benzos are notorious for causing hyperacusis. If you take any of them, it's likely they are the culprit.
scott, you say you used to have it. Do you have a sense of what made it stop? I don't know what benzos are, so that probably means I'm not taking any.
Thanks By the Bay, I will look at those earplugs. I do have earplugs but they really are not that helpful. I do suspect I may have MAV also but I do not have headaches. I follow the MAV diet very closely but that does not seem to be helping. I was thinking about asking my ENT to try a MAV medication. I think the Valacyclovir and Serc have been helping with the vertigo, which has not been too frequent lately. But the rest of my symptoms, especially, the hyperacusis, are bad. Scott, I was only using benzo's (lorezapam) when I had a really bad vertigo attack. The past couple months, I have been taking them on and off at night for sleep (1/2-1 mg). I am trying to wean off of them but can't seem to find anything to help me sleep (I have tried prescriptions, acupuncture, herbal remedies).....I am exhausted. I had a rough year so far and had to start an antidepressant in May (Lexapro). It seems to finally be working for my anxiety but my sleep is still really messed up. My hyperacusis was bad before this but maybe it has worsened a bit since on the benzos? I too wonder what helped make your hyperacusis stop? Thanks all for your input
Yes, it went away after i took Valtrex. Benzos are benzodiazepines... valium, xanax, ativan, klonopin, etc.
I would recommend going to the http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/ site for help with getting off the benzos. It's a huge wealth of info there. For sleep and anxiety, try taking Inositol or melatonin. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9169302
Near as I can tell the diet stuff isn't helping with my MAV either, except maybe the caffeine. The big thing that was setting off my MAV was eyestrain. As long as my glasses are right I'm good. When my eyes start to get too far off the glasses prescription, I have problems again. I wasn't getting the headaches when this started. Now I am, but that seems to be more related to menopause. acupressure (I've learned points I can do on myself) and chamomile tea have helped me deal with anxiety and sleep issues.
I used to have that. I carried (still do) ear plugs that I would put in during some meetings at work, etc.. Certain voices were painful, concerts hard, movies.... The ear plugs helped alot. I would say that I always found in ironic that something could hurt my left ear and yet that hearing is in the profound loss area.
Hi Muff, You can have migraines without the headache. I have what is called Ocular Migraines. I get the aura, but I've never had the headache. The is an increased incidence of Meniere's in people with migraines. From the Mayo Clinic website: Migraine aura involving your vision In some cases, ocular migraine describes a migraine aura that involves your vision. Migraine auras include a variety of sensations — often visual, but which also may include other sensations, such as numbness — that precede or accompany a migraine. Aura can sometimes occur without an associated headache. Also I used to have hyperacusis. If you have hearing aids your audiologist may be able to adjust your aids to help. The only thing that worked for me was cochlear implants. They totally cured the hyperacusis. Best regards, Jim
By the Bay - I love chamomile tea. That does help a little. I just picked up an accupressure book and will work on those techniques. Thanks! Scott Tom - I have stopped the benzos since June 25th. Interestingly, I am just starting to sleep better with taking an advil pm only. I have tried melatonin before and that made me feel horribly groggy the next day....and that was only an 1 mg dose. Thanks for your thoughts. Nicmger - I agree that it is so ironic that I have a severe hearing loss in my right ear but can be so sensitive to loud sounds?!?!? AKJim, Thanks for your thoughts. I do not get the aura and don't have too many issues with vision except for bright flashing lights. Those are hard on me. I am going to ask my ENT this week about trying a MAV medicine low dose and see if it helps my hyperacusis and ear fullness. Fortunately, my vertigo has been tame the past month. It's good to know that the cochlear implant helps with it. My hearing continues to worsen and the distortion is also continuing to get worse, so there may come a time when a cochlear implant would be a good choice. Thanks again.
1 mg for melatonin is way too high. Clinical studies show that .2 to .5 mg is ideal for men, and half that for women. I take .25 and never get hangover feelings.
For me, 1 mg of melatonin allows me to sleep perfectly, deeply, with no morning hangover. Many require 3 mg. --John of Ohio
3 mg is far too high and induces hypothermia and elevated plasma levels into the daytime hours. Here is just one of many studies on the proper dosage. You rarely need more than .5 mg. At best, it's a waste of money. I also used to make the mistake of taking 1 mg, but now find that .25 mg is even better and helps me sleep faster and longer. http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem.86.10.7901