I’ve just finished my 5th session for a consolidation of what I’ve learned.
I’m back on the train without any fear of all those noises that in previous months had been hitting my sensitive ears: the sound of doors, noisy neighbors, instructions from ticket inspectors at every stop… I feel cured, my noise tolerance curve is perfectly in place, and I’m finally able to say YES to life again, although I know I still need to work on the emotional side. After almost three years of hyperacusis, I still associate certain noises with pain, fear is sometimes present and I remain in control of my environment. This is something only I can do, and I know today that I can do it, by doing the exercises given by Madame Bonneyrat, daily, gradually and for long enough. One last discipline to be totally free of this nightmare.
My hyperacusis broke out in March 2022, suddenly in the middle of the street, at a time when I was stressed by work, by the Covid epidemic, by the 3rd dose of vaccine I had to have for professional obligations at a time when I was very tired… plus a few family worries. Three weeks later, the tinnitus appeared first on the left side only, then on the right after a visit to the dentist.
And so began my search for a therapist to treat a pathology that was totally foreign to me. I could no longer stand the noise of motorcycles and scooters, my Nespresso machine, clattering cutlery, the screams of children and teenagers, slamming doors, people talking loudly… and a building renovation to boot. Daily hell!
As soon as I noticed the first symptoms of hyperacusis, I consulted my ENT specialist. Although very competent and a good listener, he told me I didn’t know what to do; the second one played it down by telling me it would go away with rest; as for the third one, who is recognized as a medical authority on hearing disorders, he told me verbatim “there are worse things, you’ll just have to deal with them…” and gave me some advice, but no hope. At the same time, I tried alternative medicines such as acupuncture, cranial osteopathy and magnetism, but nothing helped. I was going through an ordeal that was having an impact on my social and professional life.
Finally, at the end of July, I met a psychologist specializing in the subject who helped me a lot, because for the 1st time I was hearing that it wasn’t irreversible. I was making progress, I was calmer, but I wasn’t cured. It was very hard, I felt alone, helpless and misunderstood, despite the precious efforts of those around me, but the hope of a cure remained.
I had already found information on ØREBLUE, but I had wanted to be treated close to home for professional reasons, and the results were clearly disappointing. I made an appointment at the end of 2023 for a check-up scheduled for January 26, 2024, which confirmed the hyperacusis precisely, and I knew immediately that Natacha Chettrit Bonneyrat was going to cure me. Her perfect knowledge of the pathology, her professional seriousness, her consideration of the emotional factor… Everything spoke to me.
I started the therapy on March 4, and after each session, when I went home and faced up to my daily life, I could see the progress I’d made, my family and friends told me so, and I knew I was going to be fine.
Today, I’m resuming my life enriched by these months of struggle, which have taught me more about myself than my past experiences. Hyperacusis is an insidious illness, because it’s invisible, it’s not known, it’s not sufficiently recognized by the medical profession… and the word “confinement” isn’t too strong to explain what I felt.
With this testimonial, I’d like to thank Madame Bonneyrat from the bottom of my heart for her attentiveness, her guidance and her unfailing support, particularly in difficult times, her professionalism of course, not forgetting her sense of humor. She devotes her time, energy and research to her patients, and I’ll never forget how she got me out of this hell. THANK YOU!
I would also like to thank Mr Bonneyrat for his warm welcome, his kindness, his availability, always ready to answer the slightest question with a smile.
Nietzsche said, “You have to carry chaos inside you to give birth to a dancing star”. That star is here, and I intend to make the most of it.