Extreme difficulty with commotion and sound

[Sunny308]

Anyone experience extreme difficulty with noise and all the different types of noise going like for example, traffic going by, from indoors, leaf blower, people up stairs, people in the hallway Or any sound, did you find you were super aware of every sound and vibration? Like the volume got turned up and your super aware of every sound.

[kalirachi]

Yes, I still have this over two years later. For the first six months it was Pulsatile Tinnitus as well as both ears feeling stuffed with cotton wool and very subdued hearing with a feeling of detachment. I had both ears micro suctioned a couple of time imagining it was a build up of wax. It made absolutely no difference. Then after another six months my hearing returned slowly. Every sound seemed to be amplified, some sudden unexpected sounds which other people don't seem bothered by make me jump out of my skin in much the same way as the soldiers suffering from shell shock did. I am still ultra sensitive to any sound coming from anywhere. I have sought advice and opinions from ENT consultants and neurologists but apart from a lot of waffle none of them has any real idea of why this is happening. One very eminent professor of neurotology said it was a form of PTSD not just from the trauma of having meningitis but the two subsequent years of medics continually misdiagnosing all the symptoms not just initially but throughout the process of living with the after effects. His suggestion which I politely declined was an anti anxiety drug called sertraline and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

[Keep-The-Faith in reply to kalirachi]

I too have all that you described. I'm at 11 months with VM & it's not done with me yet. Had a lp at almost 10 months that came back abnormal. I think it's that our brain & everything in our head space if you know what I mean has been traumatized big time...lots of inflammation & who knows what it depleted inside of us. Our brain needs good fats & maybe that is part of it?? Who knows really..the docs don't. Also I wonder about our gut since it controls so much in our body. I take probiotics but think I will take more or a different one to crowd out the bad stuff. My opinion is that it eats up our vitamins & minerals, etc. because it's so brutal to the body. I take melatonin to sleep & am waiting on my order of L tryptophan. Don't want to take western meds..too damaging. Hope you do better.

[kalirachi in reply to kalirachi]

Just a brief footnote on the subject of psychotropic drugs like antidepressants and anti anxiety drugs; something I have commented on before, the side effects of most of these are often far worse than the symptoms they are supposed to treat. People should be very circumspect about taking anything that is freely prescribed without doing some research first. My main troubling after effect from meningitis over two years later is constant dizziness. The main side effect of all the drugs prescribed for this is 'dizziness'! I was initially prescribed Amitriptyline which increased the dizziness exponentially.

[NorthLondone]

This is interesting. I've never had meningitis but three years ago I had a subdural brain haemorrhage and still have the symptoms described.

[Sunny308 in reply to NorthLondone]

How do you test for that?

[Sunny308]

I'm really scared. I can't function like this. And it makes me feel sick. My neighbor with his dog in hallway sounds louder than it would if I was normal and him shuffling looking for keys and his dog making sounds was too much for my brain to put it all together. Overwhelming. This is extreme. I'm terrified

[SqueakMouse]

Hello there Sunny, it's SqueakMouse here😍I've been MIA from a recurrence of aseptic meningitis (infusion-related😬), and only just discovered your post...I can see it was written over two weeks ago, so it's possible that the intensity of the pain and distress described in your message has dissipated (and oh, how I hope and pray that that is indeed the case❤️), but regardless, I wanted you to know that you aren't alone, and that people really REALLY care about your well-being and pray for your recovery❤️😍❤️.

There is no denying the suffering you're going through, or the uncertainty and difficulty of recovery; much as I would wish to say or do anything and everything that could offer the possibility of even the smallest relief (with conditions as destructive and disabling as meningitis, even a whisper of improvement is an invaluable gift, when the vast majority of your experience has been one of immeasurable suffering and seemingly unending decline😢), you know as well as I do--from all too painful personal experience--how heartbreakingly ineffective any attempts to sugarcoat the truth manage to be, even with the best of intentions and the most devoted effort😔

Goodness knows, the isolation and devastation that is so often wrought by illnesses of this magnitude can understandably and justifiably make you feel as though you exist in a soul-crushing, sensory-destroying bubble, cut off from love and hope and connection and virtually every good thing you ever enjoyed or dreamed of prior to meningitis😢

For those so fortunate to have been spared the experience, I'm sure my words sound overly dramatic, bleak, and discouraging--and they wouldn't be wrong . Thankfully, the overwhelming percentage of human experience is far more optimistic, stable, and enjoyable, and when the inevitable challenges and disappointments of life happen to occur, the effects are usually shorter in duration and lesser in severity than those that so often characterize bouts of meningitis😧.

No amount of denial or dismissiveness can alter the fact that they are almost always excessively dramatic, exceedingly bleak, and extremely discouraging; for me to imply otherwise would invalidate and insult the brutal truth of your experience and the depth of your suffering, and thereby invalidate and insult the depth of your courage, the impressiveness of your strength, the beauty of your example, and the steadfastness of your faith (which is something I consider to be unforgivably cruel, demeaning, and dismissive, for it is all too often the exact treatment we receive from our medical professionals and institutions--and therefore, the treatment we most commonly receive from our society, our friends and family, and the guidelines and conclusions put forth by the vast majority of medical protocol and publications...and as you know, the damage and devastation that all too commonly results is immeasurable and indescribable😥😥

So as overly dramatic or bleak or depressing as my words could justifiably seem, I've chosen them very carefully and deliberately--for I wanted you to know that I hear your pain and grief and despair; I see your strength and courage and worthiness; I empathize with and believe in and am inspired by everything you're going through; and I honor and appreciate your experience and your willingness to share it with us😍

If there's anything I can do to soothe the fear and overwhelm and sickness that you described so eloquently and poignantly in your post, please don't hesitate to ask😍 Meanwhile, my thoughts and prayers are with you❤️