Are ear plugs helping anyone?

I was addicted to earplugs for sleep to the point where I couldn’t sleep at all without them. A doctor told me that wearing ear plugs for anything beyond the use of avoiding very loud noises can cause ear blockage and tinnitus (both things that I’ve had since that I don’t think I’ve had before though I’ve had sinusitis and head congestion/dizziness before I was using ear plugs so think that’s unrelated). Ear plugs seem to help my dizziness a little but I’d like to avoid having over-sensitivity to noise (as already have that with my migraines and working on being calmer around loud noises) or other conditions. Below is from The British Tinnitus Association:

"Ear protection should not be used if ordinary, everyday sounds are uncomfortable (this may be hyperacusis or oversensitivity to sound). If earplugs are worn for blocking out such sounds, it can actually make hyperacusis worse.

Hyperacusis is an increased sensitivity to sound. If you find that everyday or ordinary sounds are uncomfortable, you may have hyperacusis. Whilst it might seem natural to want to block out as much sound as possible, avoiding sound can actually make hyperacusis worse. Talk to your GP about this and ask for a referral to either an ENT Surgeon or Audiovestibular Physician who will be able to suggest management options – often, using sound (in a very controlled way) can improve hyperacusis."

Hyoercausis is a sign of SSCD & perilymph fistula I think. So, please don’t depend on ear plugs. Have further investigation.

You can get hyperacusis with any hearing loss or distortion. I believe my hyperacusis comes from the hydrops which can follow a fistula once it has started to heal. I didn’t get any hearing loss or distortion with my fistula initially until the ‘MAV’/hydrops phase hit.

James, I thought Audiology clinic has some kind of device to help with the tinnitus

Just to clarify, the MigraineX earplugs that I linked in my post above are not designed to block out sound. I believe they let sound in. I think they are designed to help balance pressure differences within the ear.

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I think it balance ear pressure, it doesn’t cancel noise. Hope all of you had ruled out SSCD & PERILYMPH FISTULA.

I tried custom made ear plugs and I found the pressure sometimes made my symptoms worse.

I purchased a pair of high-end, comfortable ear defenders (earmuffs) from amazon and they seem to help when I take the bus, etc. They are also great for the gym

Decent pairs cost about $40 or so.

That’s a tough ask. There are tests you can have that are grounds for surgery for further exploration but afaia there is still no accurate objective test for fistulae. Even after patching it’s impossible to prove if you had one.

Because of my ear trauma, my MAV was separately diagnosed as Secondary Hydrops after PLF.

I’ve had fluid sensations in my ear since the trauma and this has taken over 3.5 years to abate (far longer than Hain says they take to heal btw) spontaneously. So glad I never went for surgery and as per Hain mine seems to have healed without intervention (thank you Hain!!!)

I suspect a substantial number of PLF’s end up healed and you are left with Hydrops which causes most of the vertigo, residual hearing loss, tinnitus and odd vestibular crud.

The whole disturbance could also, theoretically give you ETD due to all the blood and goo (the injury could cause an increase in mucosa in your middle ear due to the inflammation) which builds up in your middle ear and Eustachian tube and you end up with a real mess, leading to all the MAV like symptoms.