Hi Candy-mac!
I also have periodic hyperacusis. I acquired Meniereās Disease in my left ear between my ES surgeries. Intermittently, I have to wear an earplug in that ear in order to function normally. I sleep w/ earplugs in at night but I do have constant tinnitus. Iāve found that salty meals & chocolate make the ringing in my ears worse. I was told by the ENT who diagnosed the Meniereās to eat a low salt diet & stay away from caffeine. Guess he knew what he was talking about!I Every time I eat even 1 square of chocolate, my tinnitus ramps up. Sooo annyoing!!
I have had both of my styloids (1 removed at the skull base; the other just shortened because a nerve was wrapped around it, & stylohyoid ligaments removed abt 3 years ago. All is well so far. Iām sorry to hear youāve had regrowth.
Never thought regrowth was even possibleā¦sighā¦
I canāt seem to put ear plugs in or even around my ears. They start hurting so quickly. If I have to use a food processor, blender, vacuum, ect, I use my Bose noise cancelling around the ear but only for short periods. I havenāt found any in ear plugs that will fit comfortably.
Must have super small ear holes. 
Howard Leight earplugs available on Amazon come in a size for smaller ear holes. I just ordered some as Iāve been curious if theyād work better for me than their standard size.
I also have small ear holes, too! Have never been able to use bluetooth headsets or earbuds, etc. They hurt or wonāt stay in. I have to wear earplugs when I vacuum, use the blender or anything noisy. Totally get what youāre going through. Have done this for several years. Earplugs used to hurt but I think I forced my ear holes to adapt over time.
Hereās the link for the smaller size earplugs:
Iām glad your noise cancelling head phones work in the meantime.
Very much appreciate that!
You know one noise that really kills me?
My mother-in-lawā:joy: her high pitched southern twang hurts me even when my husband is talking to her on the phone across the roomā:roll_eyes: Imma baaad girl for admitting that.
Hope you donāt have to listen too often, then!! You are indeed very bad! 
Teeheeš Itās got to be a frequency thingā¦between her, any redneckās truck with loud glass pipes and those little green frogs that stick to my back doors and croak before a thunderstorm (how do I find a deterrent for those buggars!?)
It will drive you ape #*%tā¦!!! All you can do is laugh after the fact.
The fan in one of our bathrooms gets my ear when my hearing is sensitive & being in a noisy group setting makes my brain go all wonky. Itās kinda weird how hyperacusis messes w/ the brain waves. 
You got that right! Iāve opted for becoming agoraphobicā¦
People out there are without a lick of common sense anyway. Especially here in Louisianaš
My friend & her family just attended their daughterās wedding in Lake Charles last week. Apparently their daughter is quite content in Louisiana, or perhaps itās just the good companion by her side that makes it a happy place for her. 
I suspect we all feel like that to a certain extent - I think weāre losing the sense of ācommon senseā in our high tech world where we now have everything at our fingertips & mostly have instant gratification. Weāre losing the ability to wait, use our brains, & exercise common sense ā¦
Sounds like your Vagas nerve is affected in some way/being stimulated
I think you are probably right there. I recently had some of my CT with contrast results and found out that on the left side my stylohyoid ligament is 58mms and calcified, and on the right side I have clumps of calcification with the longest clump being 28mms however, I donāt know the length of that one. I get intermittent pain in my neck as well as the other symptoms that I previously mentioned. It is nice to be a part of this group as everyone on here realises that ES can lead to a range of weird symptoms that tend to get dismissed by members of the medical profession, and usually when it is detected its by accident ie. when having dental problems (and having a panoramic X-Ray).
Iām in Louisiana also and I think lack of common sense is a global phenomenon especially in politics. What bothers me the most is the lack of common courtesy. It seems to be spreading like a pandemic. Good luck with the noise problem. I get ear pain, tinnitus sometimes and loud noise bothers me when my headaches are real bad. Itās unusual for me not to have a headache.
Sorry to hear you have chronic headaches. Are you scheduled for ES surgery? A number of people whoāve had headache symptoms were fully rid of headaches post op.
Thanks. Unfortunately, Iām not scheduled for ES surgery. I had surgery at Tulane in New Orleans about 2 years ago. After the surgery the Dr told me that he was only able to take the tip of the styloid off because it was right on the facial nerve and he was worried about causing permanent damage. I got no relief from the surgery. I recently joined this site and have been trying to look through other sufferers posts to compare symptoms and searching for a Dr that may be able to help me. As every one that has this knows, itās very difficult to find doctors that have experience with this, and if they do, they donāt want to believe that this is whatās causing your symptoms. Itās very frustrating. I truly believe that this is extremely under diagnosed. Iāve suffered for a long time and had been to many doctors before I was finally diagnosed and that was because I stuck my finger in my throat and felt the lump from the styloid process and made the doctor feel it also.
I know you live far from PA & CA, but if you are able to travel to see Dr. Cognetti or Dr. Samji, I believe either one could help you. That said, youād need a new CT scan & diagnosis to submit ahead of time. Both doctors do phone consults for a fee which would save you an initial trip to find out if either would be willing to do a revision surgery. Might be worth pursuing it so you donāt have to live in pain for the rest of your life.
Thanks. I am considering both of those docs.
Itās humming for meā¦I love classical music and have always hummed away happily to myself (probably to the irritation of my familyā¦) but now I canāt hum at all, or whistleā¦in fact quite often just talking makes my head hurt
Hennypenny -
I think humming is good! Itās a sign of a happy heart. Hoping you get back to humming ASAP!!
Mr. Axon at Addenbrooks has done quite a number of styloidectomies. You might want to try to get a consultation with him. There are several members on this forum whoāve had him do their surgeries including our wonderful moderator Jules.
Hi Jules
Was your sound sensitiveness gone after surgery? Thanks
It has improved yes, but I had lost some hearing which didnāt improve afterwards- donāt know if that was down to ES or not.