“Many people, ranging in severity of hyperacusis symptoms, would say online school is the best, but I’m on the fence. I have milder hyperacusis symptoms, making it easier for me to be in a school setting without needing hearing protection. With my hyperacusis, it’s hard to focus when I’m physically in my small school. It gets loud during lunch since there is not a secluded, quiet space for me to sit at. That, and listening to videos, some staplers, and the art and music rooms are the spaces and sounds I have to be careful around and hope that I don’t experience a setback, a decrease in sound tolerance. I don’t get many setbacks. If I do, they don’t cause that much pain and if I’m careful they only last for a day or two. I’ve only had major episodes/setbacks twice when I was at school in-person. One was caused by a loud stapler being used over and over again during a math test. The other event was when a ruler hit the hard-surfaced floor at the end of class and teenagers were honking their horns in the parking lot with heavy traffic (the flow in that parking lot is terrible). Both events happened before I even heard the word hyperacusis. I had no idea why these sounds were hurting me until about a week later when I was diagnosed.
Two and half years later, I still remember the sound of the ruler hitting the floor and it causes me to wince everytime. The biggest issue I faced at school was focusing when other students were whispering while the teacher or other students were talking. Even the small noises in a silent room caused my ears to perceive the small noises louder than what they actually are. Then there weren’t enough sounds to drown out those noises. Online school with google meets is great. I do miss talking to my teachers, especially since it’s my last year at the school, but I can better control my environment at home. The downside to being at home all the time is that my tolerance to certain sounds has decreased. I am getting used to videos a bit more, but some audio still creates a very sharp pain. For some other students, I have to turn my sound off completely because it’s either very hard to distinguish what they’re saying, they have a terrible microphone in general, and/or when they speak, their consonants are enhanced/louder than speaking in person. The best way for me to soak in information is to listen (on a very low volume of course) and read closed captions. I am thrilled that Google Meets has closed captions. Usually, the text comes a second or two after someone says something and is accurate for the most part. It will make small mistakes, but you can tell what someone is saying.
However, there are times when I am fully dependent on closed captions and it doesn’t work. The class I have to have my volume off is my math class, which happens about one to two times out of five class periods. During those times, there have been some periods where I am then completely dependent on the notes written or are already given to us. This makes it difficult to completely understand how to do a math problem. Everytime I first log onto a meet, the volume will either be off or at the lowest setting, which is usually a step of two below a volume I usually sit at, and I turn on closed captions. Last Friday, December 11, my computer wasn’t working properly and I couldn’t log onto a meeting. With only a minute remaining until class started, I rushed to log on on my phone and put one earbud into my left ear. I have used my phone before and it worked out fine with headphones and was at an appropriate volume. As I was waiting for Google Meets to open on my phone, I turned my phone volume to the lowest setting. I hit the join button and started putting my right earbud in when my left ear exploded into pain. I immediately grabbed my left earbud and took it out. I was silently crying and screaming on the inside as I tried to lower the volume.
Never before had I experienced this loud of a volume with my earbuds. Nothing was working to turn down the volume. Then the pain really set in. The only control I had over my reaction was to make the crying and the gasping silent; a skill I learned how to master from hyperacusis. I was able to text my mom to come into my bedroom silently with shaky hands. Through the shock and heartache my mom experienced from seeing the state I was in, she was able to remain silent once she knew the pain I was in was caused by hyperacusis. I whispered what happened, doing my best to eliminant consonants, so it wouldn’t cause me more pain; another skill I learned how to do based off of my hyperacusis. I wasn’t able to attend the rest of the class that had about an hour remaining and luckily I only had one more class after that, my math class. I went into my math class meeting with no volume with headphones on just for my own surroundings at home and tried my best to understand what was going on. After class, I stayed to ask two small questions. However, I couldn’t even listen to the sound of my voice and had to type the questions into a chat. My teacher was very patient as they waited for me to type. Thankfully, I go to a small school where teachers can be more accommodating and sympathetic towards their students both in the online and in-person setting. The next day, on Saturday, though I was feeling better, I was very cautious. I didn’t listen to any videos/music or do anything at home without hearing protection, even from the things that don’t make much noise. I couldn’t even do my math homework without headphones on because the textbook pages and the paper were somewhat painful. As of December 15, my hearing is back to normal, although there still is a slight decrease in tolerance.
To answer my initial question “Is online or in-person school better for my hyperacusis,” there are cons and pros to each. However, I think the key factor for answering this question is the size of the school/class. If there are less students, maintaining a decent tolerance to sound is easier and less problematic. There will always be incidences where I experience a setback, both online and in-person. It’s inevitable because we all make mistakes.
The next school year I will be starting college. I have an option of physically going to a college and a chance to take the degree I want to pursue online. In the future, I will be meeting with colleges online to discuss my hyperacusis to examine all my options and decide which one will be best
Hyperacusis Awareness: Sound Sensitivity Treatment 