Hyperacusis: The Difficulties One Faces

"My brain sometimes feels like a tree, firing off signals from all the sounds around my. I fear my roots aren't strong enough to hold me firm in my place."wspickerman

When people look at a person with hyperacusis they think, 'you look fine to me'. However, that's not the case at all. Those who suffer from hyperacusis struggle daily with just doing everyday activities. Like going to a town meeting.

On April 20, 2016, I covered my first town meeting. Even though I was wearing my protection it was still quite loud and I'm still paying for it today. For me, sounds seem amplified. Add a mic in the room and voices that already seem to be using a mic can be quite exhausting to deal with. By the time I got home my tinnitus was spiked, I didn't want to hear another sound in the world, yet I still had things to do.

I had to upload photos, read over my notes and figure out what format I wanted to use. My tinnitus and hyperacusis really affect how my mind processes things and it can affect the very work I do. I use Spell-checker,Grammarly, anything that will help untwist my thought processing mess. Something I didn't have to deal with before being diagnosed but now struggle with every day

It's frustrating to have a condition affected by sound, most don't understand and in fact, it has taken me a while to understand. I'm still learning about the condition myself THREE years later. Hyperacusis isn't a condition that one can go to the doctor for and have fixed. There is no cure for hyperacusis but as a patient diagnosed one has to accept, adapt and cope in many ways and it's constantly changing.

Things that didn't affect me three years go now do in a different way. It's like a constant push-pull with hyperacusis, The more I try to get back to as close to a normal life as possible I'm finding through hard work and determination some things are getting better while other things are now being affected.

One has to ask themselves what they can live with and what they can handle, cope with. I find the more I push my body to adjust to handling sound, the more cognitive issues I run into. This makes me question if I'm pushing my body to hard. In some cases, my body lets me know it.

I still have days where symptoms hit me out of nowhere and I end up in bed anywhere from two to three days with just a bad migraine or a week with full blown symptoms of spiked T and H, balance issues, vertigo, nauseated to no end where I can't eat, vomiting all on top of having the migraine.

I don't like to talk about the bad days, I'd rather think positive and try to live a normal life. Why? Well, because it's a horrific condition to have. It takes a let to stay composed, aware, alert and living. Doing everyday activities. My motto, "Do what you can and listen to your body."

It's important for me to get involved in the community, after all, I live here.I'm glad the weekend is here, my body could definitely use a break after that town meeting. As a single parent and mom to three, even when I'm not feeling well I have to push myself. I try not to have my condition affect my girls. I stay on a strict schedule getting everyone up, out the door for school, work, dealing with basic household needs, and errands all on top of trying to work, doctors appointments, and continuing my therapy.

There's not a single day I don't wish my life wasn't like YOURS, the average person. In a way, that's one of the things that pushing me to continue my quest. I might not ever be cured of tinnitus, hyperacusis with vertigo and directional hearing issues but I can still strive to be the best me I can be.

Why not share your story with us.