For those of you who have been following me on this journey, you know it's been a battle from the start and even more difficult, each time I have surgery. I've had to start at square one THREE times now and dread the thought of a fourth time. The flare-ups one gets from tinnitus and hyperacusis are difficult on an average day, but to know it's coming is a different story.
It's the time my doctors get the most calls from me. Breathing techniques fail, the endless night without sleep persist, and the ringing in the ears is like an alarm going off in your head; your ears have to heal and adjust all over again to sounds. The surprising effects of the surgery can leave you with new sound sensitivities you never experienced before and others that are no longer there.
My last operation was in October of 2014, and while my recovering time seems to be getting better there are some things that just do not change. The fluid in my ears is building back up again. At this point, I'm not thinking about the hearing loss I'm experiencing because we know this is due to fluid buildup.
Right now, I have a brief window of opportunity. With my vertigo symptoms down, it's time to try the tinnitus retraining therapy. The overall objective I'm looking for is a way to now balance out that controlled environment put into place. All those restrictions were for a reason.
CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT RESTRICTIONS
- Wearing earplugs when going out
- Staying away from triggered sounds
- Restricted phone use
- Controlled working environment
- Restricted levels of sound within the home
- Reduced cross conversation exposure
- Accommodated travel
Keep in mind doctors recommend you
DO NOT wear your earplugs all day long as it can cause not only your sensitivity to worsen but your tinnitus and hyperacusis.
These restrictions, all led me to this point and time
minimal vertigo, nausea, vomiting, disorientation and acoustic trauma. We have also had a great response from the walking therapy. (A gradual reintroduction to everyday sounds through walking.) This is done with and without earplugs as needed and at ones own pace. The distance you walk, how long you stay out and where are all up to you.
WALKING THERAPY OBJECTIVE
- Reduce stress by enjoying the experience
- Ignore the tinnitus; take a walking partner with you, text, try a hobby like taking photos
- Reintroduce sounds by walking in different places. Example: in nature, by a park, busy streets
- Reduce use of earplugs by first getting use to the sounds with them and then use the earplugs less and less.
Remember it's a gradual experience and do only what you can handle. In 2014, I only went without my earplugs three times out of 365 days. That was a huge step for me being I was still wearing both earplugs and earmuffs last year. This year, I've already gone out without them over 14 times since winter ended.
This doesn't mean you're not going to have a flare-up. The point is, at the time of not wearing the earplugs it wasn't causing me pain and I was able to enjoy myself. However, your body will tell you if there is a sound affecting you not you might not noise at the time by the flare-ups you experience later and it's important to let your doctors know.
While migraines are still an issue for me that can trigger the onset of other symptoms if exposed to sounds that affect my tinnitus and hyperacusis, there wasn't much that could be done until now. Anything stronger than Extra Strength Tylenol is just to much for me and that's because I'm one of many extremely sensitive to medications. However, it might help you depending on your own symptoms and conditions so talk to your doctor(s).
The key to managing one's condition is open communication with one's doctor. If you're not comfortable with the care your doctor is giving you, you need to find another. My doctors know my
concerns, my
needs and my
overall objective.
Just days away from my first trt training appointment, I'm hoping the device used for this therapy will act like a filter so that I don't have to continue wearing earplugs every time I step out my front door. If it works it may give me the freedom to start adjusting my lifestyle once again and the option to do more things.
One of my biggest concerns is how exhausting it is for me when I am out and about. "It feels like sounds are trying to squeeze into my head all at the same time. And with my directional hearing issues it can be quite overwhelming as my eyes are telling my mind one thing and my ears another."
It would be nice if this device can filter those sounds in some way so my mind knows what's important to hear again and what is just useless sounds like, walking over pebbles. I hear the sound when I walk over pebbles as loud as say, someone talking to me.
While I don't really need to know I'm walking on pebbles crunching under my feet it's a sound my mind can't ignore like before. This is just one of the issues we'll be trying to workout along with transportation issues, socializing more and work concerns.
I hope to have a lot of information for you after my visit so be sure to follow me here. Remember, stay positive you too can take back your life from tinnitus and hyperacusis.
If you'd like to get in touch with me feel free to do so at
wspickerman@yahoo.com . Please remember to put in the subject line "Living with Hearing Sensitivity".
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