[I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in my fingers. Typing hurts. I try to abbreviate tinnitus and/or hyperacusis/decreased sound tolerance. I’m not trying to offend by calling them hyper ears, especially since brain hyperactivity is a root cause. It’s a lot less painful for typing.]
These awareness facts are answers to common questions people have about tinnitus and hyperacusis. People of all ages can have tinnitus and/or hyperacusis (hyper ears). From children to elderly.
People of all hearing abilities can have tinnitus-hyperacusis. From the normal or typical hearing, hearing loss, and Deaf communities (tinnitus only).
Lots of hyper ears from hyperactive hearing systems in the brain.
I think I have that, too. I hear noises in my ears every now and then.
Don’t punch them in the nose. Don’t punch them in the nose. Don’t punch them in the nose. Deep breathing. Gently explain.
That’s regular human ears, not hyper ears (tinnitus and/or hyperacusis). Most ears hear some extra sounds every now and then. But hyper ears hear too much sound.
Tinnitus is hearing system hyperactivity causing the person to hear extra sound(s) nobody else can hear. Tinnitus usually can’t make up its mind how loud it wants to be or how it wants to sound. In severe cases, it can be like never-ending fingernails on the blackboard or an endless car alarm.
Hyperacusis is hearing system hyperactivity causing the person to hear sounds extra loud compared to other people. Decreased sound tolerance is like the hearing equivalent of banging your elbow every time there is a sudden or loud sound. Sound hurts.
Maybe you just need a job (hobby, etc.) to take your mind off your hyper ears.
Translation = You must be lazy.
The fact is, hyper ears are individual. Some people have fairly mild symptoms. Others are very distressed.
Getting involved in a project can help to distract your mind from tinnitus-hyperacusis for short periods of time. This is a helpful part of any coping plan. But there are limits to the amount of time in a day a person can spend on hobbies.
There are still times when hyper ears is naturally on your mind and hobbies won’t help.
You just need to exercise more.
Isn’t this another way of insinuating that you’re lazy? If more exercise were the answer, nobody would have hyper ears. Yes, exercise is an important component of any hyper ears coping plan, but it’s only one part.
Hyper ears isn’t real.
Objective brain imaging testing shows brain hyperactivity in people with tinnitus-hyperacusis.
If you got more sleep, you’d feel better.
Well, duh! Try falling asleep with a constant sound in your head.
One of the problems with hyper ears is that sometimes the body doesn’t go into the deepest stage of sleep. Even if you manage to stay asleep for several hours, you may not wake up feeling refreshed.
Most sleep medications may help you get more hours of sleep, but may not give you the deep sleep you need.
I read about a cure for tinnitus.
This can be one of the toughest comments to deal with because it’s usually said by well-meaning friends or family who genuinely want you to feel better.
Cure product $ale$ are all over the internet. There are dozens of products out there claiming to cure tinnitus. If there really was a cure available now for tinnitus, we would all be using it. It would be international news.
There’s no cure yet, but tinnitus distress and hyperacusis are both treatable.
At least it’s not fatal.
True. But slow torture is not something people willingly choose.
Of course we’re glad it’s not fatal. But that doesn’t help reduce hyper ears distress. It doesn’t help raise research funding or hyper ears awareness. Understandably, people tend to be more interested in preventing death than
improving quality of life.
It’s imaginary.
Some people imply you’re bonkers if you say you have hyper ears. Professionals like audiologists do tinnitus-hyperacusis evaluations. They provide counselling and other management options, as needed, based on
current tinnitus-hyperacusis science.
Why would scientists and professionals waste their time on something imaginary?
It’s all in your head.
When you’re dealing with something invisible like tinnitus-hyperacusis, it’s awful when people make you feel weak, oversensitive, exaggerating, faking, or mentally unstable.
A reasonable answer is, “You’re right, it is in my head. Science proves that hyper ears are from hearing system hyperactivity. Tinnitus is from hearing too much sound. Hyperacusis is from hearing sound too much.”
But you look fine.
You can’t see hearing system hyperactivity. It happens inside the brain. It’s invisible like chronic pain.
This comment puts the person with tinnitus-hyperacusis between the proverbial rock and hard place. If we let ourselves go and show how we actually feel, people are uncomfortable and don’t want to be around us.
On the other hand, if we manage to fix ourselves up and put on a brave face, no one realizes we’re struggling.
If somebody said, “My diabetes is flared up” people would be very understanding. If somebody says, “My hyper ears are flared up”, why should it be any different?
Too bad nothing can be done.
Often nothing can be done medically. There is usually no medicine or surgery to fix tinnitus-hyperacusis.
But something can be done.
There are many non-medical treatments available from hearing healthcare providers, e.g. audiologists.
The goal is managing hearing health and any tinnitus-hyperacusis distress. Learning to cope well and have a better quality of life.
There are proven options from self-help to professional tinnitus-hyperacusis counselling and treatments.
Audiologists can do evaluations and provide tinnitus-hyperacusis management, hearing loss management, hearing health, and hearing protection related services.
Always get the advice of a qualified hearing healthcare provider with any questions you have about your individual tinnitus, hyperacusis, or hearing health and treatment needs.
Jan L. Mayes 