Hyperacusis is a gain in the auditory system and/or sound intolerance. It is the "other" side of the coin with tinnitus. About 40% of those suffering from tinnitus (250 million in the world) have a level of hyperacusis. Many have one condition. And many suffer from both at the same time. Hyperacusis can be a pre-tinnitus condition and if recognized, a warning sign. It could have been for me if I had understood my symptoms.

Hyperacusis is usually not believed. The sufferer "is" humiliated.

For me, hyperacusis was the "" himself, a surreal experience. I was hearing every sound in the world magnified a thousandfold, i.e., a cat was like a lion , my own sounded like those of a , the water from the faucet resembled Niagara Falls. A quiet room resounded like an ;
I couldn't tolerate the sound of a pin dropping. No one believed my pain. And no doctor was able to help me. I became like an alien who could no longer stay on earth. I had an unlivable level of hyperacusis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Excerpt from pp. l03
Carol has no idea what is happening. The trees swaying in the spring breeze like thousands of snakes. The birds en masse take over the sky and the earth. When she looks out the window, she sees nothing unusual. She can't see the force that she hears so loudly. The entire environment into the bowels of the earth.

Excerpt on pp. l47, l48
Carol is deliberately outside. It is late, and it is dark. She is on her bicycle...
She edges out to the center of the highway. Dear God, let it be quick. Don't let the car injure me without killing me.

Carol hears honking. A voice yells, "Are you crazy? Get out of the way, you nut!" She swerves back toward the curb, obeying the irate driver who fails to strike her. She sits on the curb. Her bike lies across the sidewalk. The area is deserted.

She cries hysterically. She looks up at the darkened sky. Where are you, God? Why won't You help me. She wipes her eyes and picks up her bike. She doesn't think it now, but God just has. She slowly pedals home, on the sidewalk, wearing her headset.

Excerpt pp. 293
"You do not have even a trace of hyperacusis. Your resistance to sound is better than ninety-nine percent of the general population," , her auditory genius, tells Carol.