Hello, I am a 47 year old man, married with 3 children. I have been an amateur musician since my early adulthood, and I have learned to protect my ears as I rehearse and perform. As a sales executive under a certain amount of pressure from my various hierarchies, I have been working for many years in a stressful environment.
In 2012, one evening during a dinner show organised by my company, I suffered a sound trauma. It resulted in great fatigue and a striking increase in my perception of the volume of my environment for the next 48 hours, without any lull.
I was admitted to hospital late, as my ‘usual’ ENT doctor was not taking requests for emergency consultations. I was given cortisone and psychiatric treatment for my post-traumatic depression.
This was followed by years of searching for solutions. Hearing aids generating white noise (TRT for 2.5 years), consultations with numerous conventional and alternative practitioners. No convincing results were found, periods of well-being but worsening of my perception of hyperacusis. In short, I lived in hell for 6 years, having to protect my ears most of the time, and not being able to do any “sound” activity. Misunderstood by those around me, I felt alone and incurable.
One day, I discovered the existence of the institute via an internet forum. I decided to call right away, and I was welcomed in a very friendly way by Mr. Bonneyrat. His conviction and his knowledge of the problem convinced me to take an entrance assessment. This was a kind of revelation. Mrs Bonneyrat took the time to receive me for several hours with an auditory and psychological assessment. She was able to put her finger on the mechanisms of hyperacusis that had been causing me so much suffering for so many years.
I began to work on getting out of this infernal circle. My healing process consisted of daily listening sessions and deep work on my psychological problems, which prevented me from getting out of this state. Mrs Bonneyrat’s different techniques managed to get me out of hyperacusis, to understand its mechanisms, and to give me the keys to not relapse.
I finished the therapy in the summer of 2020, and now in 2022 I can live normally again, without fear of noise aggression. Nevertheless, I no longer go to very noisy places without appropriate protection, in order to keep my hearing as healthy as possible. I deal with everyday noise shocks that may disturb me thanks to exercises learned in therapy. I give up certain events if I think they are likely to harm me in general, either mentally or physically. I have also learned to say “no”.