Tinnitus And Hyperacusis

Sounds are great to hear as long as they don't bring you pain. To some people though, many sounds do bring pain. These people have a condition known as hyperacusis. People who suffer from this condition are normally sensitive to sounds that do not disturb others. These disturbing sounds include normal everyday sounds but they are normally sounds of certain frequency ranges. What causes hyperacusis? There are several factors that might cause this condition, however doctors and researchers have noted that many of those who have this condition suffered head trauma at some point in their life.

So, how is tinnitus and hyperacusis related? Well, it's actually quite simple. Those who get hyperacusis are actually more prone to get tinnitus. The difference is that while the normal tinnitus patients just get the symptoms of ringing, buzzing, hissing, roaring and crackling, those with hyperacusis will actually get physical pain when they hear high pitched sounds and sound waves.

How would you know if you have hyperacusis? First of all you would need to do a hearing test. Then you should take your test results and consult with a doctor who treats nose, ear, and throat conditions. Look in your phonebook for otolaryngologists or otorhinolaryngologists. Once the otolaryngologists has your hearing tests, he will do his own tests by looking at the functions of your ear canals and so forth. From there, you will undergo sound therapy which should help you alleviate your problem.

Sound therapy will help you adjust to certain frequencies and sound waves. When you do this, the hyperacusis problem will get a little bit easier, but you might have to go about altering a few things in your life. One of those things is to wear ear protection during times when you normally would not have to. Due to their problem, some people would have to give up some activities that they would normally do. For some people the above changes have to be followed for a short while until they get over the problem, but in extreme cases of hyperacusis the above has to be followed for ever.

Though sound therapy can be very helpful, there is no guarantee that it will work in all cases. So what should you do in this case? Many don't know how bad this problem will affect their life, so the first thing one should do is learn how to adjust oneself to the hyperacusis and tinnitus problem. One has to learn how to deal with this problem in a number of different ways and there are even group talks that one can attend to help alleviate his or her problem.

If you have any of the above symptoms, then waste no time and get your ears tested as soon as possible. If you leave your condition untreated you may find that the symptoms only get worse. If your tinnitus and hyperacusis conditions get too bad, there might not be much that a doctor or otolaryngologists can do about it and in that case it could be a problem that you will have to carry for the rest of your life.