Anyone else got tinnitus and/or hyperacusis?

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else has tinnitus or hyperacusis (very sensitive hearing?)
I've always had very sensitive ears. I was a musician so I was always very careful about my hearing, having music low on my earphones. I noticed that I had to drastically reduce the volume
if I was listening to someone else's music as it would be agonisingly loud. I just thought that was because everyone else had hearing damage.
Gradually I had to start using earplugs in the cinema and now in any place where there is amplified sound because it's too painful otherwise. I also use earplugs to sleep as I get woken up by sounds very easily.
I first got tinnitus three years go, a few months before my first severe depression (I've had mood swings since I was a teen but this was the first paralysing depression). At the time I was starting to get bouts of really bad anxiety and the tinnitus drove me mad for a while. Now it's just background noise and I don't really think about it.
I\d also been to a music festival around then, so I thought that it had been triggered by that.

Anyway, does anyone else have this? Can there be a link to BP? Searching online there seems to be some possible link. I know some meds can trigger it, but I was med free before and lamotrigine I take now doesn't seem to have made it worse or anything.

The hyperacusis does get worse when I'm depressed.

rosella1 wrote:Just wondering if anyone else has tinnitus or hyperacusis (very sensitive hearing?)

Yup. Ever since my mental health crisis 5 years ago when I was diagnosed. It gets worse whenever I have severe anxiety. I do not have bipolar or any other mood disorder, however. I have a dissociative disorder, which is a kind of trauma disorder.

These symptoms are very common in trauma survivors who are struggling.

I would say I have pretty sensitive hearing, only thing is I can't make out words much of the time so yeah I can hear someone talking 200 yards away but even if I was 200 inches away I wouldn't know what they're talking about. Even at the doctor's office when they were testing my hearing I got some points off because someone in another room was using the copier machine and I was focused on that instead of the beeping from the headphones.
Although my ears have always been really sensitive. Until I was about 17 I hated Independence Day because of the fireworks but then I discovered ear plugs that make the explosions less painful. I remember when I was about 12 being angry because of all the noises at Thanksgiving so I ran home from my grandmother's and tried to make myself deaf by listening to music at max volume through headphones but I couldn't stand it

Hi
Well I've had BP a long time. When I was experiencing a particularly intense period of activity/ cycling I did suddenly begin to experience Tinnitus. In my own case it presented as a perfect, repeating recording of a compressed air road drill. So perfect was it that I first went around closing all the windows and closing doors - and even , late one night, got up, got dressed and went out into the streets to find the actual source of the noise!
I had no idea it was possibly related to BP issues until yr post. Put it down to old age etc! My experience is, if you ignore it it tends to die down but its still low key 24/7 for me. Not unpleasant but could do without it

-- Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:25 pm --

Hi
Well I've had BP a long time. When I was experiencing a particularly intense period of activity/ cycling I did suddenly begin to experience Tinnitus. In my own case it presented as a perfect, repeating recording of a compressed air road drill. So perfect was it that I first went around closing all the windows and closing doors - and even , late one night, got up, got dressed and went out into the streets to find the actual source of the noise!
I had no idea it was possibly related to BP issues until yr post. Put it down to old age etc! My experience is, if you ignore it it tends to die down but its still low key 24/7 for me. Not unpleasant but could do without it

Always had "very sensitive hearing". More of curse than blessing with alcoholic parent. Having to listen parents argue about their private matters - through 2 walls - wasn't that nice..

So kinda knowingly been destroying my hearing with loud music for past 10 years.

Also got ear for rhythm. Never really learnt to play any instrument though, tried various, didn't find one I like.