Has anyone had treatment for hyperacusis?

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Has anyone had treatment for hyperacusis?

What is it?

Hyperacusis

Ouch! There's no need to shout...

Yes, I started treatment for it but I had to stop because my insurance would only pay for a certain number of visits to an OT, (I should note that this was mainly because I didn't yet have an actual dx of AS) Also, besides treatment for the hearing sensitivity, the sessions were not very productive because the OT had only worked with young children and was at a loss for what to do with a 17 year old.

The treatment that I received was fairly simple. I just listened to classical style music that had been digitally altered to slowly build up tolerance to a wider range of sounds, using a special set of headphones. The OT would put the headphones on me at the beginning of each session and adjust the volume so that it was at a comfortable level for me to be able to tolerate while also talking and doing whatever other thing we were doing that day. Th headphones had to be placed correctly because the bridge part that goes over your head delivered the vibrations of the music at the same time on your skull. The changes in the music were so slight and built up so gradually that you do not notice it at all. If I hadn't known I would have just thought that I was simply listening to classical music with regular headphones.

I hasn't on the treatment long enough for there to be any really significant changes for me, but I did start to feel that I could tolerate some noises a little bit longer that in the past, although in the almost 2 years since my brief treatment, my hearing sensitivity has gone back to the way it was originally.

I might try it again sometime in the future if I ever get the opportunity to do so.

I should also mention that I have heard that the treatment is really effective and it can pretty much make hearing sensitivities go away. However I did hear one story about a guy who did the treatment when it first was discovered and his sensitivities went away. But many years later his sensitivities suddenly returned.

I personally feel it would be worth it to not have to deal with over sensitivities even if it only lasted a couple of years.

Thank you for your detailed reply!

I also think it would be worth it (if it worked) even if it was temporary. In my case, I have young children. This is THE most important time of my life for me to handle noise.

I've been using a decibel meter to see what levels are uncomfortable or painful. Over 40 decibels is bothersome, over 80 is unbearable. Somewhere in between I start feeling my ear drum vibrate and it starts to build up to give me headaches.

I am getting a custom mold for these ( https://www.westone.com/defendear/index ... Itemid=133 ) soon.

I just have a free app on my phone. Mine is called, "decibel 10th". I just open it when I find myself frustrated at the noise level and look at how loud it is. At the top of the screen it also says things that help you put the level in perspective. For instance, I checked it just now and walked around:

"Average quiet whisper" in the room I am typing this in (and it is already at an uncomfortably loud level ).

I walked into the room where my kids were playing and it ranged from "Average Quiet Home" and "Average Normal Conversation". My daughter squealed and that registered as "Loud Singing" (and gave me physical ear pain). That still didn't register quite 80 decibels, the level that is damaging to anyone's hearing, but is usually not even uncomfortable for most people.

*I suppose I am lucky in that my oldest (AS) child is also very sensitive to noise and self-regulates a lot of the noise in the house. He was the quietest toddler/preschool boy I'd ever met.


Those earplugs will hopefully be significantly better than the regular kind you but at the drugstore. They are supposed to preserve the sound better, just making it less loud (as opposed to the foam type I usually use that "clouds" everything up). My husband got some from that company for his job and has a contact person to get the molds done for me. He's been trying to talk me into getting a pair for a long time, but I've been too afraid to spend that much money on myself.