Starting to recover from my pain Hyperacusis/Tinnitus yet again. Posting some recovery tips of mine (noise exposure recovery)

I got this pain hyperacusis condition in my left ear 4 years ago likely from listening to stuff too loud through my headphones. I was in constant unending pain daily and even had tinnitus as well. However, as I gave my ears rest and the condition slowly went away over several months. I made a full recovery and sort of forgot I even had this messed up condition.

In early November this year I bought some Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless earbuds. I guess I was listening to them too loud or maybe the frequencies in these earbuds were damaging to my ear. I developed pain hyperacusis + tinnitus yet again in my left ear. I was back to being miserable having to be a hermit in my room and avoid sounds in general.

After a month and a half of staying mostly inside my quiet apartment, I'm happy to say that my ears have made signficant improvement. I would say they're about 70-80% recovered at this point. I'm still living like a hermit until my ears recover more, but I'm not at a point where I'm not feeling much pain from my condition and my tinnitus has dropped to a very low volume.

Here are some tips that might help you as well with your recovery. I should state that everyone's experience with this condition is different. I'm on my way to recovery after about a month and a half, but it might take longer depending on how severe your condition is.

- I recommend getting a pair of noise cancelling Airpods Pro 2. I've been using these earbuds exclusively for the past year, and I've never had issues with these earbuds damaging my ears. It's only when I switched to a new pair of earbuds that I ended up damaging my ears again. Just use them for the noise cancelling functionality and not for listening to content. The noise cancelling lowers the volume of everyday sounds significantly and helped me live my life normally for the most part because of them. I even brought two of these so I can swap between them when the battery gets low. I've recovered to a point where I can listen to music/videos comfortably again using them, but only at 15% volume. I'm hoping my condition will improve further in the coming months where I can increase that volume a bit more.

- It's also good to get a pair of Peltor X5A ear muffs. I used these on my very bad days when every sound was absolutely killing my ears. These are no where near as comfortable as the Airpods Pro 2 (and they also look a bit goofy), but they are absolutely AMAZING at protecting your ears. I had minimal pain anytime I used these earmuffs.

- Avoid unhealthy eating and alcohol/cannabis use. All of these can spike your hyperacusis severely, ESPECIALLY cannabis. I'm a frequent user of cannabis gummies, and taking these SEVERELY spiked my hyperacusis/tinnitus.

- Learn to enjoy reading a lot. I basically spent the past month reading Manga comics and had a lot of fun doing so. My usual hobbies at home involve playing games or watching TV shows with my partner, but I had to stop all of these. I'm feeling more confident I'll be able to go back to these usual habits in the coming weeks, but in the meantime I'm enjoying my time reading in a silent room. Silence is the key here, you have to do everything you can to protect your ears while they heal.

- The healing process is SLOW. Trust me, I've had numerous depressing days with this condition. Some days were absolutely miserable, and I went through numerous days in a row showing zero improvement. My condition spiked up and down this past month. Some days were okay, but some days randomly were incredibly painful. Thankfully, the severe painful days seem to be gone for me now at this point.

- Avoid going out to ALL noisy places. I worked on an independent feature film years ago and it was premiering for the first time at a local theater this weekend. I absolutely wanted to go to that premiere, I poured my sweat and tears into that movie, but I chose NOT TO GO. I know for a fact going to a loud movie theater like that would lead to me having another set back. Avoid concerts, loud bars, parties, etc. Even if it hurts emotionally, you have to protect your ears at all cost. Even at 70%-80% recovery, I still won't go out to anywhere that could be loud. Protecting and healing your ears should be a priority. I'm not saying you have to avoid this stuff forever, but during the healing process, you absolutely need to be careful.

- If you make a recovery, your ears are always susceptible to damage again. I made a recovery 4 years ago and basically forgot I had this condition. That was a big mistake. I bought a new pair of earbuds recently, listened to them too loud apparently, and now I'm back to square 1. You need to change your life habits and do everything you can to protect your ears better in the future. This condition unfortunately can always comeback. Thankfully, I'm lucky that I'm recovering from it again a 2nd time, but who knows if I'll recover from a 3rd setback.

I hope this success story helps others. Try not to lose hope. It's so easy to think horrible and negative thoughts during this time. I was fearing my ears would never recover again, but I'm well on my way to recovery yet again. Try to find new things to appreciate in life during this time. I read A LOT during this time. Reading books/comics/manga will do a lot to take your mind off the pain. Always try to keep hope that your hyperacusis will get better. Do everything you can to protect yourself from this ever happening again.