“Léon” - Anonymous Patient

I spent a large part of my youth in nightclubs at weekends. I used to get tinnitus regularly when I left the disco, but after a good night’s sleep it went away, until one day it never went away again. At first it was very stressful, but over time I got used to it, learned to forget about it and live very well with it. I continued to go to nightclubs, but I’d really turned down the heat, and quietly went on with my life. Yes, I was young, I had a thirst for life and for partying with my friends.

But about 9 years ago, after another big nightclub outing, I woke up with hyperacusis. Total shock, every sound was amplified and really very unpleasant, total panic. I managed to calm things down with a lot of aural rest. I was able to go on with my life almost normally, but I was still apprehensive about going to discos and concerts.

After about 3 years, I started going to nightclubs again from time to time (once or twice a year), but with hearing protection. I was still careful in very noisy places, my life was already altered, I refused to go to certain parties or concerts. Unfortunately, after each “deviation”, so to speak, my hyperacusis returned at full gallop, which I managed as best I could…

Then professional exposure to very high-pitched sounds put another layer on top of that. Until one day, after a last night out at a disco where there was a lot of bass, the hyperacusis came back even stronger, the horror… I had plugs in, but the bass was so strong that my body was “vibrating”.

After that, I could hardly do anything, the horror, physically I couldn’t stand noise in a restaurant, noise on a café terrace, noise in a supermarket, noise at a family meal, my life stopped.

I was convinced that it was incurable, that I would end my “life” this way. I was in a very, very bad way psychologically. But I wanted to get out of it, and after a lot of research I discovered Øreblue therapy. From my very first interview, I knew I’d come to the right place. At last someone understood my suffering, and I immediately saw that Ms Bonneyrat knew what she was talking about. She reassured me by putting everything into the right words.

So I went for Øreblue therapy. After 4 sessions my life has changed, I can eat out again, have a drink with my friends in a bar, have lots of evenings out with my family, stay by a noisy road, be in a noisy urban environment… I never thought I’d be able to do that again one day.

I still have some work to do on certain points, but it’s only been 4 months since I left the center. But I can finally live again.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr and Mrs Bonneyrat.

I would like to point out that I have met many people at the center, and all of them were on the road to recovery or simply cured.