Patient Stories
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Dr. Anthony J. Sommo, 1947-2023: “Tinnitus is worse than blindness.”
Hyperacusis Research is grateful for the generous gift of Anthony J. Sommo, Ph.D., who donated $42,000 after his death at age 75 to further our research to find a cure. Tony was a sociology professor at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. He grew up in a working class...
The Weight of Sound
Photo credit: Vítor Belanciano by João Øbo · Rågeleje, Denmark João Øbo recounts his solitary journey through recurrent periods of unremitting torment and invasive noise in a world where even silence is loud. · For more than six years, I have lived with chronic...
The Hyperacusis Wall of Remembrance
Breanne Woods, with some help from Hyperacusis Central, has created the Hyperacusis Wall of Remembrance, dedicated to those whose lives were altered by hyperacusis, and who are no longer with us. One of those is our beloved founder, Bryan Pollard, who died nearly...
Felipe’s story: “We are handicapped, and I would rather act accordingly than suffer for no reason. The more I recognize what hurts me and what does not, the better I can go through life.”
Felipe, a doctoral student in philosophy and a native Spanish speaker, lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife Bianca. What I want to say to you is this: I know the pain. I know the pain you go through every day and I know what it is to hurt your loved ones...
BBC News: “Hearing my children’s laughter is like torture.”
Karen Cook, a former flight attendant, shared her story with the BBC, describing how pain hyperacusis has so drastically altered her life.
Hyperacusis; an Engineering Perspective
By Frank Magnusson I am an aerospace engineer and former test pilot with hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is poorly understood, and there is so much conflicting advice that I had to examine it from an engineering problem-solving approach to learn to deal with it on a daily...
Stuart’s Story: “The audiologist had never come across hyperacusis in real life. The staff were wondering why I was flinching at the sound of heels tapping along the shiny floor.”
By Stuart Colwill Nine years ago, when I was a teacher, I started to notice that minor sounds (doors opening, pens tapping, keys jangling, birds chirping, coughing, sudden laughter) were becoming distressing, making me recoil and throwing me off track. My students...
Scott’s Hyperacusis Story: I can no longer be a father to my children
Growing up, I developed a deep love of music that came from always being surrounded by it. My maternal grandfather always had oldies playing on the radio. My mother was a huge Rod Stewart fan. When my father would pick me up every other weekend, we’d listen to ’70’s...
Dave Vance’s story: I had cancer. I have Hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is worse.
People think that cancer is the worst thing that can happen to their health. Everyone has heard of cancer. Everyone fears cancer. They think it’s an awful, scary, painful disease — which it is. Sometimes it’s a death sentence. But the damaged ear symptoms I struggle...