Does anyone here have Hyperacusis?

urahonky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperacusis

I think I may have this... Since I was a kid I've been extremely sensitive to noises. Right now I cannot sleep without a fan, but the fan I have is now making a noise which makes it impossible for me to sleep (even headphones and music aren't working anymore). The thing is giving off a really high pitched noise that is killing me.... And not only that but it's vibrating the entire room. So even with loud music I can still feel it.

I need relief. I haven't been able to sleep a full 7 hours in months because of this.... Does anyone know what to do to get relief? What do I need to do? I'm willing to try anything... I can't go into work this drained all the time.

I'm so tired.

Dunadan019

can you buy a new fan that doesn't make weird noises?

urahonky

Dunadan019 wrote: »

can you buy a new fan that doesn't make weird noises?

I've bought two fans in the past week, but both of them were much louder than the one I've got now. I'm tempted to buy a small desk fan and see if that helps.

Neurotika

Have you tried any white noise/sleep machine stuff?

I know there are dozens of free apps to try it out if you have a smartphone.

urahonky

ForceVoid wrote: »

Have you tried any white noise/sleep machine stuff?

I know there are dozens of free apps to try it out if you have a smartphone.

I tried using a pink noise mp3 that I found, but I hear a high pitched sound when I listen to it as well. The sleep machines may work, but the problem is that I need to have a fan... I get incredibly hot overnight and I sweat often if I don't. I slept a single day without my fan and the next morning there was a body-shaped sweat mark in my bed.

I think I'm going to try and call my doctor today and maybe get on some anti-anxiety pills if possible. I just went through the list of "anxiety symptoms" and I noticed I had at least 10-15 of them.

But I've never been on anti-anxiety pills before.... Have they worked for people here?

Fantasma

Sleeping with headphones and music is not a good idea. Have you considered an Air Conditioner?, the Split Air Conditioner model is very quiet.

urahonky

I don't think it's a problem with "quietness" per se, but the high pitched noise the motor makes. Some days it's better than others, which makes me think this is stress/anxiety related.

And yeah I try not to sleep with headphones as much as possible. But some nights it actually helps and I'd rather get that extra few hours of sleep... Though all the research I've done says that headphones actually make the hyperacusis even worse. Which makes me :-/ because I wear them for 8 hours at work.

saltiness

Does your bedroom have a ceiling light? If it does, you can replace it with a ceiling fan which will be significantly quieter than a portable fan.

urahonky

saltiness wrote: »

Does your bedroom have a ceiling light? If it does, you can replace it with a ceiling fan which will be significantly quieter than a portable fan.

Unfortunately no. We live in a pretty badly made apartment... Which I think is part of the problem. Acoustics are very bad in it... I can hear if my downstairs neighbor is doing anything because it shakes the wall.

Dropping Loads

There are many options for earplugs that filter out high frequency noises. That could cut down on the motor while while still letting you get some of the normal background noise you like.

urahonky

I didn't realize there were earplugs that did that... Hmm. Well I'm back from the doctor's visit and he prescribed a low dose anti-depressant to help me sleep and hopefully get over the anxiety stuff!

urahonky

So I took the pill at 9pm, was out by 9:45, and slept all through the night (even with the fan off). So it must be doing something right.