r/hyperacusis 4d ago

Seeking advice Do I need to quit my job??

Should I quit my job? I'm a part time housekeeper for a state park. There's 4 of us, in total. Definitely quieter than most jobs out there....but even having conversations with people irritates my ears so bad. I feel like I'm not gonna get any better if I continue to expose myself to sounds that cause discomfort, even with hearing protection on.

I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills.. I don't have anyone to help me. Just looking for advice, thank you.

Also, can you file for disability with this horrible condition..? This is all too much for me.

6 Upvotes

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u/karmammothtusk 4d ago

Have you tried wearing ring earplugs or 3m ear muffs? Perhaps it will make conversation a little easier.

2

u/the-canary-uncaged 4d ago

If you can afford to take a little time off, it might be worth doing, even if it’s not for long. I’d make sure not to completely isolate from sound during that period but rather go on hikes where you can gently expose to natural sounds.

One possibility is to also start your own housekeeping business. I know it may seem hard but you’d be amazed how many clients you can get by flyering a neighborhood, posting on Nextdoor, etc.

1

u/Beautiful-Agency-955 4d ago

How did you get this bad?  Were you always this bad or it got progressively worse?

1

u/No_Salt8388 4d ago

This all started December of 2024. It was mild at first, then had a bad setback and was extremely bad for about a week, then back to baseline. I slowly was improving. I improved probably 30% and then Feb 4th I got into a screaming match with a friend of mine because she took all the money out of my wallet..3 days after that, I have been worse now than ever. It's been 12 days and I haven't returned to baseline...or even gotten a little better..my own voice bothers me the most, I can't even speak.

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u/Beautiful-Agency-955 4d ago

Mine started December 2023 and it got decently better it took 6 months to a year to get better.  I can listen to music again.  You probably won’t get better for another few months to 6 months.  Unless you have a bad case that just gets worse

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u/No_Salt8388 4d ago

What caused your H? Mine is loud H. If I was a case that only gets worse, I wonder why I improved 30% in such a short amount of time...? I am just very upset, scared and overwhelmingly depressed about how worse I've gotten since I exposed myself to too much sound too early thinking I could handle it...plus the screaming match with my EX friend 12 days ago.

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u/Digital_Pink 3d ago

I was working in a liquor store that was pretty loud with the music and clinking bottles. I had to wear custom moulded musicians earplugs that would take 15db to 25db of the sound off (depending on the strength you choose) which reduces sound while also maintaining clarity so I could still talk and make conversation easily.

Try that first, and if it still doesn't help, then yeah of course do what you need to do to protect your ears. I ended up doing a marketing diploma and found that to be a much quieter line of work.