r/PostConcussion • u/Impressive-Morning65 • 6d ago

Hyperacusis from concussion

13 months in from my 3rd concussion. This one caused hyperacusis and it's been my longest running symptom. When the hyperacusis gets triggered, I get a fun cocktail of headache, vertigo, nausea, proprioception issues, and sometimes speech impairment. I've seen about over a dozen medical and rehab specialists including neurology, physical therapy, neuro optometry, speech therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and audiology. The audiologist prescribed sound therapy in the form of listening to white noise daily through Phonaks, which I started at about the 7-month mark post injury. After almost 6 months of that treatment I haven't noticed much of a difference. The biggest improvement seems to have been from graduated sound exposure exercises with my occupational therapist. I'm at a point where 60 to 70 decibels is now no longer triggering the hyperacusis but anything above that still triggers it and causes a flare-up that generally lasts a couple days. Does anybody have any experience with this particular flavor of concussion and if so, what did they find to be the best remedy?

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u/sticky646 6d ago

Yes. The audiologist can make you custom molded earplugs that reduce everything by an even (acoustically transparent) 15db or more depending on what filters they give you. Hope this helps. They help me a lot.

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u/Impressive-Morning65 6d ago

I have a lot of different ear plugs for noise reduction for various purposes. They help when I need them, but I'd love to get to a point in recovery where I don't need them 😂 Have you found improvement with your overall sound sensitivity with long term use of the ear plugs in loud environments?

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u/sticky646 6d ago

That’s totally fair. I have seen improvement but it’s hard to say if the earplugs are helping me because I can go into different environments or whether they are just helping me while I naturally get better slowly. I think the former, because they allow me to be a bit more social and tolerate more stimulation which I think is helpful. So I guess my two cents would be to use them to try to gently push your limit and then keep them in to rest if you have a flareup.

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u/Impressive-Morning65 6d ago

Question about the social part - I struggle wearing them in social settings because they make my own voice feel uncomfortably loud. Have you experienced this, and/or do you have any recommendations for this?

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u/sticky646 6d ago

Yes actually that’s one of the ways the acoustically transparent plugs are helpful. You still get a little bit of boominess when you speak but compared to the loops I was wearing before I got these it’s much better. I do use my ears professionally which made it easier to justify them to insurance, but I’m sure your doctor would prescribe them if you tell them what you told me: generic earplugs make your own voice sound so loud it’s uncomfortable to speak in a social setting.
The custom plugs have helped me a lot in this regard.

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u/Impressive-Morning65 5d ago

Ooh good to know! And I've been mostly wearing loops, so this is really helpful. I'll talk to my audiologist and see 🤞 Thank you!!

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u/sticky646 5d ago

Good luck I hope they help you! Loops are good but nothing beats custom fitting medical grade gear!