When Hyperacusis Seems Permanent

So your hearing sensitivity didn’t go away quickly.  You heard a big bang, something happened with your ears, and suddenly everything sounded way too loud.  You thought it would go away quickly. It didn’t.  What do you do when hyperacusis seems permanent?

Your first reaction may be to reach for a pair of earplugs to protect your ears, but what are you protecting them from?  The loudness of the sound is not outside you but within.  They may help by cutting down on the noise that your poor ears have to over amplify.  However, if you have permanent hypercusis, they may also increase your hearing sensitivity over time.  You get used to less sound, so every little sound you hear is exaggerated in comparison to the near silence you try to live in.

You may then try natural remedies like minerals, vitamins, or herbal remedies.  You may try exercise, yoga, relaxation techniques, specific diets, or acupuncture.  These remedies may even provide you with some relief from permanent hyperacusis.

If you’re still feeling shut off from the world and overpowered by sound, it might be time to visit an audiologist.  Tests can be done to determine if the actual hearing structures of your body are intact.  There will be tests to see if you have indeed suffered from any hearing loss.  It may sound incongruous, but it can happen.  Tinnitus is also checked for and with good reason, because tinnitus and permanent hypercusis go together so often. 

Once all the tests are done, recommendations for tinnitus treatment are made.  These are important because, if you don’t want your permanent hypercusis to rule your life, you need to get it under control.

Most audiologists these days suggest some form of desensitization technique.  TRT, or Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is probably recommended the most.  In this method, a patient is fitted with a sound generator that emits a low level broadband sound into the ear.  The patient wears it for 2 hours a day for 2 months at a certain low level.  Then the level is adjusted and the patient wears the device for 2 hours again each day, but this time for 4 months.  After that the device is only used occasionally for maintenance.  In the meantime, counselors carefully explain what is happening to the person’s hearing and help them find the best behaviors to deal with the problem of permanent hyperacusis.  Other methods such as Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment work in similar ways.

Treatment for permanent hyperacusis is a long and arduous affair.  If the person is not committed to his or her treatment, it may fail.  The most important thing to remember is that, if treatment succeeds, hyperacusis never has to be permanent.