With Hyperacusis, the dynamic range of the ear is affected. The dynamic range relates to the ear’s ability to deal with sudden changes in the volume of sounds heard. In normal hearing, the ear regulates noise by amplifying quiet sounds and muting very loud sounds. Hyperacusis inhibits the central nervous system from responding appropriately to incoming sounds. Every day noises, even pages of a magazine being turned, can sound excruciatingly loud.

Hyperacusis is often a chronic condition, meaning sufferers experience it on an ongoing basis. Between 25% and 40% of sufferers also experience tinnitus. Many hyperacusis sufferers also report a degree of hearing loss, inner ear pain or pressure in the ears.

Often hyperacusis first develops in one ear, but both ears are usually affected eventually. The condition can either develop gradually or suddenly as the result of being exposed to sudden loud noise.
Causes of Hyperacusis include temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, head injury, acoustic trauma, some forms of autism, prolonged exposure to loud noise, Lyme’s disease, Meniere’s disease, damage to the brain or the neurological system and conditions such as schizophrenia and epilepsy. It can also be caused by medications such as antipsychotics, antidepressants and illicit drugs.

Hyperacusis can affect every area of life, as sufferers are driven to take drastic measures to find relief, such as leaving their jobs, moving house to an isolated area or stopping socializing. Sufferers’ mental health can be adversely affected and they are at risk of developing conditions such as depression. Many sufferers resort to wearing ear mufflers or ear plugs in an attempt to muffle the sound. However this can exacerbate the symptoms of hyperacusis and place the sufferer at risk of developing phonophobia, which is an overwhelming fear of noise.

Treatment
Hyperacusis has been found to respond to pink noise therapy. Pink noise most closely matched the spectrum of noise we hear in our normal daily lives and works by desensitizing the ear to noise. It is thought to be better than using white noise as hyperacusis sufferers are more sensitive to the higher frequency content in white noise.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy using sound generators has also been found to be effective at treating hyperacusis.

If you suspect you are suffering from hyperacusis, consult your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment options.

Symptoms can be relieved or even cured by reducing the amount of stress in your life and learning ways of relaxing. For more ways of reducing stress, read this post. For people experiencing high levels of stress who find it difficult to relax, tranquilising medication may be prescribed, although these can quite often have unpleasant side effects.

Lack of sleep can also cause tinnitus with temporal headaches. If you are finding it difficult to get to sleep or are suffering from insomnia, you may want to discuss this with your doctor. You may be able to relieve symptoms or even cure your condition by making sure you receive at least seven hours of quality sleep each night.

Another reason for tinnitus accompanied with temporal headaches could be a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is when a bleed occurs in the subarachnoid area of the brain. This can occur following a head injury, or a rupture of one of the main arteries. It is potentially very serious, but also very rare, so if you are experiencing temporal headaches this is unlikely to be the cause.

A lumbar puncture can also bring on a temporal headache, although this does not generally occur until around 12 hours afterwards.
Another cause may be Temporomandibular (TMD) or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders (TMD). Muscles and ligaments linked to the ear can sometimes react against each other, causing signals which are misread and can generate noises heard in the ear. Once this is treated, the tinnitus and headaches should disappear.

Tinnitus can be accompanied by a whole range of symptoms, from headaches to dizziness and nausea. Remember, a headache is only a symptom of tinnitus, not a cause- by eliminating your tinnitus the headache should also disappear.

Here is a brief look at some of the most common symptoms of tinnitus. How many of these can you identify with? I’m sure you could add even more to this list!

Lack of concentration,
Depressed feeling or low moods,
Lack of patience/ irritability,
Headaches,
Anxiety,
Stress and nervous tension,
Nervousness
Panic attacks,
Loss of self confidence,
Insomnia,
Exhaustion,
Fatigue,
Low self esteem

Apart from the hearing loss accompanying Tinnitus which is one of the main physical symptoms, a lot of the symptoms listed here are more psychological in nature.

There are three important things to remember here.

• Tinnitus is a symptom rather than a disease
• You are not necessarily ill and you are certainly not mentally unwell. Your body is trying to tell you that something is not right.
• You will overcome your Tinnitus if you accept it and come to terms with it.

As soon as you are ready to accept that the tinnitus is a (hopefully temporary) part of you, the sooner you can expect to make progress in beating this condition.

Acupuncture is an alternative Oriental treatment which has been used to treat a variety of health conditions and diseases for over 2,500 years.

Acupuncture works by inserting very fine needles into the skin to target energy points in the body, known as ‘Qi’ points. The science behind acupuncture is that health is governed by a balance of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ within the body- the ‘Qi’, or energy, flowing through the body is ‘yang’ and its counterpart is blood, or ‘yin’. When these two forces are out of alignment with each other, disease is the result.

Acupuncture regulates the flow of ‘Qi’ and blood, creating harmony within the body and theoretically curing disease. It is also believed that certain ‘Qi’ points correspond with different organs within the body.

In acupuncture, the kidneys are believed to be connected to the ears, and any hearing problems can thus be caused by weakness in the kidneys. The heart and lungs are also thought to affect tinnitus; as the heart and mind are thought to be connected, weak blood flow to the heart will also have an affect on the head and ears.

Treatment is likely to vary with each individual case and how long they have been suffering. Herbal medicines may be prescribed alongside acupuncture treatments. Some success has been reported using acupuncture, although results have been rather mixed. Many sufferers have reported a lessening of their symptoms even if the tinnitus has not been completely cured. I strongly feel that the strength of your belief in alternative treatments such as acupuncture can have an effect on whether it will work for you.

It may be worth trying acupuncture, although you should always make sure you choose an approved practitioner. It is always advisable to consult your doctor or consultant in the first instance.

Suffering hearing loss can be frustrating as it affects our ability to communicate. This can cause stress, which can aggravate the symptoms of tinnitus.

A normal hearing aid may relieve the symptoms of tinnitus, as the sufferer will be able to hear more external and back ground noises, which will cause the tinnitus sounds to lose their prominence.

However, other sufferers find no improvement to their tinnitus in using a hearing aid alone, and some report that these can even amplify the tinnitus sounds. There is now a device available which combines a hearing aid and tinnitus masker together in a single unit. It is called a Tinnitus Instrument, and is worn like a standard hearing aid. It contains separate volume controls for hearing and tinnitus masking; the correct volume for hearing should always be set before the masking element is adjusted, as if the masking sound is too high hearing could be damaged further.

If you think that you are experiencing hearing loss, consult your doctor who will arrange for hearing tests to be carried out and appropriate treatment advised.

The most common Tinnitus sounds reported are;

Ringing- usually a continuous high pitched note, which is why Tinnitus is sometimes referred to as ‘Ringing in the ears’. This can resemble the high pitched ringing sound emitted by some electrical equipment such as television sets.

Buzzing, whistling, hissing and humming sounds are also commonly heard.

Other sufferers report sounds like rushing water, wooshing type noises or the sound made by a seashell held close to the ear.

Others still hear sounds resembling chirping noises, roaring, fluttering or noises resembling a chainsaw. Rarer still are sufferers who hear sounds resembling musical notes or Morse code.

Sounds which appear to beat in time with the pulse are known as ‘Pulsating Tinnitus’. Tinnitus sounds can also worsen if the sufferer is under stress or undertaking physical activity.

Different sounds heard can give a clue to the cause of the tinnitus; the ringing and buzzing noises may be linked with inner ear damage which may be triggered by exposure to noise. Whooshing or roaring noises may indicate stress induced Tinnitus.

Tinnitus sounds are most commonly heard in both ears, but some sufferers report hearing the sounds in one ear only.

Common tinnitus noises heard include ringing (people commonly associate Tinnitus with a ringing in the ears), humming, buzzing, whistling or noises similar to running water or the ‘wooshing’ sound heard from a seashell held to the ear. The noise can be any pitch, and can either be continuous or intermittent.

Tinnitus sufferers can find it difficult to function on a day to day basis due to distraction caused by the noise, which they can find impossible to shut out. It can also prevent sleep and cause depression and affected quality of life. Tinnitus can also be associated with hearing loss.

The different forms of Tinnitus are;

Pulsatile or Pulsating Tinnitus, when the noises heard appear to beat in time with the pulse.

Tonal Tinnitus, which is the original ‘ringing in the ears’; this is usually a continuous sound, of the same pitch and intensity.

Tinnitus where the sufferer hears other types of noises, such as beeping, buzzing or whooshing sounds.

A rare form of tinnitus where the noises heard may be similar to musical notes or even songs, or the sufferer may experience more than one noise at the same time. A rarer form still is ‘Objective Tinnitus’, where the noises can be heard by others as well as the sufferer.

Tinnitus is more common than people realise, with a third of adults reporting tinnitus type symptoms. Although it is not a disease and not generally serious, it can cause great distress.