Hope


Recovery Stories
Research and Treatment

Recovery Stories

Sound tolerances for someone with hyperacusis can slowly improve to significantly higher levels. Those who can recover ought to wear hearing protection to movies, clubs, concerts, sporting events and other loud activities to prevent tolerances from dropping again. Those who show improvement often report a slow and turbulent recovery that commonly involves discouraging setbacks. You may notice that many who have recovered have experienced what you are experiencing now. The percentage of those with hyperacusis who can and cannot achieve such significant long-term gains is unknown.

LDL- Loudness Discomfort Level in decibels

Story At Worst At Recovery Time to Recovery
Frederico’s Story
(HyperacusisResearch)
Pain from typing and rattling dishes. Ate off of paper plates Can go to clubs and parties (Wears earplugs for protection) Two years at quiet beach resort. Regularly surfed and pushed sound limitations as conditioned improved.
Michael Huffington’s Story
(Huffington Post)
LDLs 78
Pain from faucet, pots and pans, restaurants.
LDLs 92
No pain from restaurants.
5 weeks (Ongoing)
Molly’s Story
(Hyperacusis Focus)
Pain from female voices. Pain from music in bad ear. No pain from voices or music. Hyperacusis much less if not completely gone 6 months pink noise, 2 years total
Adam’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
Pain stacking plates, shutting doors, and flushing Can go to bars and restaurants without earplugs, pain or discomfort. Wears earplugs for concert or clubs (which he should anyway). 4 months with white noise machine, 4 months TRT (w/ S-Tones Tinnitus Sound Therapy), CBT2.5 months w/o sound generators.
Rob’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
LDLs 30-40
Severe Pain, long lasting setbacks. Pain from voices.
LDLs 90-100
No ear pain in years.
6 months without treatment or improvement then,Years TRT
Andrew’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
Pain from dishes, radio, and loud TV Feels 80%-90% better. Can go to bars, concerts, and sporting events months w/o treatment or improvement then,15 months TRT
Minor’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
Need to communicate in whispers. Challenged in eating, cooking, and showering. Conducted Symphony. Attend movies without earplugs. Can handle screaming babies hours at a time. 10 years w/o treatment or drastic improvement then,2+ years TRT
Dan’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
Pain from own voice, road noise, and his children’s voices. Only carries earplugs for loud events like movies. No setback after nearby aerosol can explosion years w/o treatment or drastic improvement then,18 months TRT + continued gradual sound exposure afterword
Lynn’s Story
(Hyperacusis.net)
Burning ear, fullness. Pain from voices (whisper only), dishes, flushing, and running water. 90% better. Only discomfort, not pain, from loud sounds with high frequencies. 6 months w/o treatment or drastic improvement then,
8 months pink noise

Research and Treatment

Something new about hyperacusis is learned every year. Researchers throughout the world are investigating hyperacusis traits, mechanisms, and treatment options. This research has identified possible pain receptors in the cochlea, hyperactivity in specific regions of the brain triggered by cochlear damage, and the significant prevalence of tonic tensor tympani syndrome in hyperacusis patients. Studies throughout the world are being developed to dig into the mechanisms of the suspected pain receptors. Perhaps spurred by the hyperacusis literature review, studies are also beginning to differentiate pain and loudness hyperacusis to nail down the traits of each more precisely. Alternative sound therapies have been developed in hopes if speeding up the recovery process. Multi-modal sensory stimulation is being developed to target areas of the auditory brain more precisely than sound alone. A surgical treatment is being studied and has shown positive results in early stages.