"Marga hears too much!"

Marga is back and still hears too much, but experiences something special!

Hyperacusis, hypersensitivity to noise, is less well known than tinnitus, but there are many people who suffer more or less severely from it.
In this section “Marga hears too much” Marga van Hintum blogs about her experiences with Hyperacusis regularly.

Special? Yes, it is!

You haven’t heard from me in a long time. The reason?
I’ve had a pretty hard time for a couple of months. Why was that? I had secretly put my hopes in my visit to the ENT-specialist. The same specialist, where Miriam van Soest has been. She wrote a first contribution about her strong hyperacusis on 2 July 2019. And about the experimental method of damping, which would bring results. See ” Hyperacusis with experimental muffling ” by Mirjam van Soest, of July 2, 2019.

Experimental muffling
I had hope. But I have hyperacusis* as well as tinnitus. I realized very well that the tinnitus could throw a spanner in the works. But still: suppose it could work for me too, even if only a little bit…

I had to wait 2 months before I could go to the ENT doctor. I walked on little clouds. I floated once in a while. Hope alternated with realism. That it wouldn’t do anything for me. But the hope, it remained. And then finally came the day of the consultation.
Anyway, within 5 minutes it was clear that the experimental damping method with silicone flaps would not work for me. Reason? My strong tinnitus. And the strong hyperacusis.

I fell back to Earth in a hell of a way. With a huge smack. Bam.
My clouds collapsed. I’ve cried terribly for them. And I’ve had the misfortune of it for a very long time. I was down, depressed. I was always a little less optimistic in the fall; days getting shorter and shorter and more cold, bah. And now this came on top of it.

Home
But then finally it was spring. Special? Nah…
The days got longer. The thick sweater came off.
And then came Corona.

I’ve been living in home isolation for 5 years. Not as strict as I am now, during the corona crisis. But I haven’t been able to go to bars, movies or parties for 5 years. Not to the woods or extensive shopping. I do walk in the polder once in a while. I don’t receive large groups. Only once in a while 1 person visiting. I was already used to that.
For me it was actually not very get used to, that Corona. That bit stricter, going outside as little as possible, that’s just a little bit more for me. That can also be added to everything else. No visitors, well, then don’t. So what?

Now, in Corona time, people should stay home as much as possible. And ruin their free time in the house. Just like me, when I got home. They can’t go to the theater, the cafe, the gym. Just like me, back then. The difference with all the other people is that I don’t use a lot of social media to keep in touch. That has to do with my nature, but also with my ailments. For me, Facebook gave far too many stimuli. So I quickly removed it again. Making phone calls is not going well. Email, that works for me, fortunately.

Plenty of exercise, getting tired in good health, that’s now very important for everyone. And it’s good for mind and body. Of course the yoga classes will not take place now. But with experience of many years, we do it together. At home, with my love, in the living room. That also gives a very nice feeling! That is quite special.

In the sun
And one morning, last week, I was outside in the sun, at a garden table. Nothing special, you’d say.
There, in the sun, I put tomato plants in separate pots. Anything special? No, why?
Those tomato plants had grown so big in a month. That’s special.

From one of those tiny seeds, after four weeks a plant like “I’ve got you there”. Pretty special, I think.

And what’s most special? That, on a weekday Wednesday morning, I stood outside with my plants. Other years I had to do that inside. And of course a lot of cleaning afterwards.
There wasn’t much traffic and there wasn’t much city noise. Because of Corona. So I could go outside. In the sun. Reasonably relaxed repotting plants.

That was delightful for me. I think that’s very special!

* Hyperacusis, literally “I hear too much”, is a condition where you are hypersensitive to ordinary everyday sounds. Everything sounds too loud. “The volume knob of ambient sounds stands for someone with hyperacusis permanently at too high a setting” (source: foundation Hoormij)
Hyperacusis occurs in many forms. For me, especially higher frequencies are very annoying and hurt my head. I also have tinnitus. Concentration is more difficult and focusing on a sound source is more difficult.