Additional recommendations about Change of Habits - 1/3

1. Sleeping can be very difficult. Many times the mere act of turning our head on the pillow makes a loud noise in our ear. If we have severe hyperacusis we learn to roll our head on the pillow, or better yet, lift our head and reposition it. New cotton pillowcases can be difficult because the material is new and rough.

2. Crushing paper, electric can openers and dropping ice cubes in empty glasses are also difficult. Alternatives: fold paper and then dispose of it; get a manual can opener (they work great); and try filling your glass before dropping the ice cubes in.

3. For many of us, we miss working with wood and using a hammer. Pounding a nail is 100 decibels, and beyond what many of our tolerances allow! Let us talk about Dynamic Range. Although we have collapsed tolerance to sound, our ears cannot adjust to sudden shifts in volume. Even shifts from zero decibels to 40 decibels are hard for us, yet we may be able to tolerate sustained sounds of 40+ decibels.

What kind of sense does that make? Sustained sound is much easier for us to handle than sudden shifts in volume. That is part of the reason the early morning is difficult for us. Our ears have heard no sound all night and then as day breaks we must become reacquainted with noise. As we get on with our day - things often improve.

4. Before you turn a TV or radio OFF - turn the volume off too. Starting a car and being blasted by the radio is very difficult (dynamic range). Most TV's have an oscillator that emits a high frequency ... often we are able to hear this high pitch noise and it is very irritating.

5. Sirens are very distressing for us. When you hear one coming close all windows before it passes.

6. ... if you have hyperacusis and need to raise your voice to get attention, it is better to cup your hands around your mouth. This method protects your ears from the loudness of your own voice.

7. Cutting grass is a particular challenge. Push mowers are quieter than tractor type lawn mowers, but electric lawn mowers are best... Others use foam earplugs or wear earmuffs.

(to be continued on the next posts)

Texts extracted from The Hyperacusis Network web page (Supplement section), with the permission of its editor. (see “related links” in this blog)

Special cares and measures taken - 2/4: Change of Habits

Change of habits:

Due to my severe hyperacusis I had to change many of my habits in daily life:

- I began doing all my activities slowly and in a quieter way, in order to avoid unnecessary noises.

- In the morning, when I woke up I paid special attention to noise, because my ears were more sensitive.

- To take a bath I stopped using the shower. Instead I began using a bucket and a sponge to avoid the noise produced by the running bath water. I did the same to wash my hair. In both situations, I always worn earplugs.

- To flush the toilet I used my knee, while holding my fingers in my ears, even if I was worn earplugs because the noise was too loud.

- I tried to sleep face up at night and stopped using the pillow because turning my head on it made a loud noise on my ears.

- When I had to cut or dispose papers and plastic materials, I folded them or made use of scissors, instead of crushing or cutting them with the hands.

- To communicate with people I began to use writing instead of speaking, because the sound of my own voice were extremely bothersome. I asked my family and friends to do the same when they wanted to talk with me, since their voices were also a problem for me.

Special cares and measures taken - 1/4: Hearing Protection

Parallel with the treatments performed to reduce my hyperacusis and tinnitus, it was taken several measures to protect my ears and to attenuate the noise at home. Following I explain them in detail.

Use of hearing protection:

- I continued using foam earplugs, but avoiding the mistakes made before about fitting and use. I bought also earmuffs which I used alone or in combination with the earplugs when the noise coming from outside my home was so strong.

These earmuffs were especially useful to attenuate or cancel high frequency sounds.

I also used the earplugs and earmuffs to do some specific things at home that were noisy: turning on the microwave, manipulating the rubbish plastic bags, using the washing machine, taking a bath, washing my hair, washing the dishes, opening some cans, etc.

Recommendations about hearing tests

“So few doctors know anything about our condition, we rarely get good advice and frequently hearing tests are administered to us which can make our condition even worse ( MRI or Brainstem Evoke test).

Before any hearing tests are performed on a patient who is suspected to have hyperacusis, their Loudness Discomfort Levels (LDL's) should be known. If the sounds generated from the test exceed the LDL of the hyperacusis patient, their sound tolerance can become further collapsed (worsened). This would be unfortunate.”

“... As I mentioned before, many of us have had our ears tested by professionals in ways which have caused even further damage since the tests involve listening to 90+ decibel sounds.

Before we receive any hearing tests, our tolerance levels must be known, so we are not hurt further. This is something your E.N.T. (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) needs to know. If you mention this to him/her and they have no idea what you are talking about - you are in the wrong hands! Because most of the medical community does not understand our problem, we have to be very careful.

For example, having an MRI can be devastating to our ears unless full foam ear protection is used and inserted correctly. If an MRI must be performed, it is imperative that you wear full foam earplugs, and if possible, wear plastic earmuffs on top of the earplugs.”

Text extracted from The Hyperacusis Network web page (Supplement section) , with the permission of its editor. (see "related links" in this blog)