Noise
 

Has anyone who has RSD in their face/head or internally ever noticed that noise seems louder or even sometimes distorted? Almost like a hyper-sensitivity in the hearing? It's so weird! :yikes:

Hypersensitivity to noise is one of the recognised symptom of RSD luckily that and the constant headaches are the only 2 I don't have.

I have that too, along with headaches. Probably from it.

Most Definitely
 

Over the last couple of years and more intensely in the last six months my hearing is so hypersensitive. There are now some sounds I cannot tolerate at all. Opening a pop can, high pitch sounds, even the simplest of sounds can feel startling to my nervous system. And bonus I now have a constant ringing in my ears.

My RSD started in my foot, ankle, leg after back surgery, and has moved all over since 2004.

So sorry that this is happening to you :(

Yep...certain noises are a trigger for me too.

One of the best tips I got for this was here on this forum. I keep my ipod with me at all times and have headphones with it. I find that turning that on (I have a particular playlist set up for these moments) with the headphones in does wonders for me. I had tried listening to music before...through speakers...but it's the headphones that make the difference. Some situations where this helps a lot are when someone is running a vaccuum (that noise just KILLS me), when they were doing roadwork outside our house, when my boyfriend mows the lawn, when there's some sort of high pitched noise that I can't pinpoint or can't turn of...stuff like that. This doesn't help for those quick noises that will give me a jolt...but helps with the ones that go on for a while.

Well glad to know it's not just my imagination...but sorry you guys have this, too.

I have sleep apnea and narcolepsy with cataplexy, too, and lately my CPAP machine makes this noise ( at least I've started hearing it anyway) that drives me crazy until my Xyrem kicks in and knocks me out.

Not sure if it did it or not or if it just happened around the same time, but I had withdrawals from Effexor when I was switching to Xyrem, and ever since then my hearing has been hypersensitive. But sometimes sound is distorted...especially voices. The major withdrawal symptom I had was a vibrating electric shock in my head that I could actually hear. I still get it sometimes, especially when I bend over, move my head too quick, or if there's a lot of other noise around...very annoying!

Me too. I do find my hypersensitivity is worse when my pain levels increase. I spend much of my time reading my nook (1000's of free books from the library via download) and that this is the best "activity" to keep my pain level from rising.

This issue also leads to isolation becoming an even greater factor.

Reading and narcolepsy don't go well together LOL. I used to read a lot, but as the narcolepsy got worse, it's harder to stay awake to read :)

While I don't have narcolespy, I certainly fall asleep while reading frequently. ;)

Thats the bit I hate. I can be sitting there and within a minute just fall asleep never for more than 15 mins and I always feel worse when I wake up and I'm freezing.

I miss my reading so much...I was such a voracious reader before RSD. Now I cannot concentrate on the written word well at all...my comprehension level seems to have fallen and I find I end up re-reading the same sentence or paragraph over and over. it's so frustrating! Thankfully, I have discovered the world of audiobooks and they are one of the best things for me when I need to take my mind off the pain...a very welcome distraction sometimes.

Catra, it may have been me that you got the ipod idea from. I cannot listen to music at all anymore - radio in the car, or stereo system in the home. When I was still working, a radio on several offices away would set me on edge. I hate the music they play in stores. I have had to leave a grocery and go sit in the car for a while in the quiet because of the sounds.

My ears constantly ring, I have had a nasty headache for 4 years now.

The pain/sensitivity from the RSD in my shoulder and neck go up the left side of my face. I don't know if that really makes the sensitivity to noise, or if it is just a "thing" with RSD, no matter where you have it.

I had to go to an ear doctor several years ago. I sat in a little booth with headphones on to take the hearing test. It hurt SO MUCH, I was sobbing - and finally just had to stop. They said they never had anyone do that before.

Last summer when we had the big power outage that lasted for days - it was hot out and I had the windows open. I thought I would actually go insane from hearing the neighbors generators. I live in the middle of no where, nearest neighbor is over 1000 feet from me. But, there's a big greenhouse business about half a mile away and they have HUGE generators.

When the electric went off, I was thinking - ahhh some real quiet! Nope, the noise was horrible.

6 years as a combat medic did my hearing in that and Rock and Roll lol One of these days I'll write a book title " the funniest thing's I NEVER Heard " I cant ever remember a time in my life there was not a ringing in my ears. I finally broke down and got hearing aids about ten years ago after I back handed one of my kids at the dinner table for something I heard them say but what I heard was not what they said according to everyone else at the table.

Sad but funny at the same time. I have narcolepsy and hear strange things all the time...part of the dreams invading wake time...but I've definitely noticed a difference lately.