Emergency financial support while dealing with ear condition

Hi. My name is Jacob Armstrong, and I have been dealing with a severe, relentless ear condition, which is tinnitus (loudly ringing ears) and hyperacusis (painfully sensitive hearing) for a year and a half from listening to music too loud growing up and not protecting my ears. The main issue is that they both get worse from what I perceive to be loud noises almost every single day now, which makes them not stay at the same level and allow me to readjust to it. Because my hearing is getting more sensitive, the decibel of noises and volumes needed to worsen my condition is also getting lower and lower. In other words, the more sensitive my hearing gets, the easier it is to make it worse. This means that noises from doing things like mowing the lawn, vacuuming, and even going on walks with cars and motorcycles passing by are all loud enough to make my ears worse. It has gotten to the point where I cannot do the dishes, listen to people talk in person or on the phone, or shower without being extremely careful not to make my condition worse from all the constant sounds. Even noises from my body, like speaking or chewing crunchy foods are getting painfully louder, and I fear that every single noise will not only be unbearable, but continue to worsen my condition more and more. It cost me my previous job, due to how it has affected everything, including causing severe stress, anxiety, and depression, and the new job I’d found, due to not being able to go anywhere anymore, because of all the road noise and vibrations from either driving or riding in a car. I am now forced to stay confined to my room, and avoid living a normal life anymore, all to prevent my ears from getting worse while only being able to find work online with no skills or experience, that does not involve phone/voice calls, and that offers health insurance.

I have seen three different otolaryngologists, or ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctors, and none of them have been able to help me due to my condition not being bad enough to show results for the tests done at the time. I had also heard about “round and oval surgery”, which is done to help people with hyperacusis, however, the only place I could find was 3 hours away, and they did not accept my health insurance at the time, costing $10,000 without it. I have tried three dozen different ear protection products, between earplugs and earmuffs, mostly through amazon, and I have gotten refunded everything that did not work. The two that I use now are high NRR (noise reduction rated) earmuffs and earplugs, which are still not enough from still being able to hear through them because of my perception of sound, but they at least keep my ears from getting worse rather than leaving them unprotected. I have also tried going to every single hearing aid store in my area, and out of nearly a dozen of them, doctors from the only two that program theirs for hyperacusis had told me that my condition was so bad that they could not help me either, and recommended going on disability, which I do not qualify for. One doctor that I had spoken to told me about a doctor that is an otologist, which is a subdivision of an otolaryngologist that specializes in the ear, who knows everything there is to know about the inner ear conditions. The only problem is that his office is an hour and a half away, and there is no possible way for me to get there in my current condition.

Because I had no idea what else to do, I decided to try making my car quieter since I was trying so hard to get the same kind of job I had before, since it was the only work experience I've had. First, I tried getting the quietest tires I could find, which cost $800 ($1,000 with the services), which I was able to finance by getting approved for their credit card. They were quieter than the tires I had replaced them with, but not enough for what I needed, and even though the financing is manageable, there was no possible way of getting any sort of refund. Secondly, I decided to try to make the car itself quieter from the inside by lining it with material that would absorb the vibrations and dull the noises from outside. After calling all around, I had finally found someone that understood my condition and situation and knew what I was looking for. The new job that I had just started was only 10 minutes away, and since I was in my probationary period, I could not stay home while my car was worked on, because even though I was riding in someone else’s newer, quieter car, my ears would still get worse every time I made the short trip. By the time that I had gotten it back, my condition was too bad for it to matter because it still was not quiet enough. The total cost that I was able to finance was $1.4K, plus an additional $550 to pay in cash for a different issue with the ignition that absolutely had to be fixed. I have already paid $600 in total for the financing, however, the financing company said that they can bring the remainder down to only $112. Since I am not able to use my car anymore, my insurance agent said that my only option in this situation is to pay the $400 that I owe, or else my license would be suspended, it would become more difficult to get insurance on another car as well as making the price higher, and it would go into collections, which would affect my credit score, which is already low. Not only did I have no other choice but to pay that amount, putting my bank account in the negatives with overdraft fees, but the condition that my car is in makes it barely worth anything, aside from any value that is left from the additions I had put on it, that were only done to try and help with my condition, which ended up failing.

Due to the depression and feeling of hopelessness from the thought of not being able to get help or manage this condition at all, it led to airborne mold developing in my room from losing my appetite one night, putting the rest of my small amount of food left into bag to tie up, and forgetting to throw it out. By the time that I did, there was a small amount of black mold inside, which released the spores that turned into airborne mold. This has already happened once a year ago, which caused me to deal with mold allergies; dry cough, dark phlegm, runny nose, itchy eyes/eye gunk, and making my voice sound incredibly raspy. The worst part of it was how it affected my asthma, which was easy enough to control at the time, but the mold gave me shortness of breath, and a tight chest, that gradually got worse and worse, making it much harder to breathe, do physical work, or think straight, which led to poor judgements, bad decisions, and making constant mistakes all around. I tried airing the room out, spraying to kill the mold, and getting both a dehumidifier and air purifier, but nothing had worked because there were no physical stains that I could see anywhere to clean, and it had spread in the air too much. After calling around local mold treatment services, I had finally found one that specialized in what I needed treatment for. After it was done, all my allergy symptoms had completely dissipated. However, because of the exposure to it, and despite the shortness of breath and tight chest being slightly alleviated, it still had lasting effects on my asthma. My pulmonologist (asthma doctor) at the time was not helping me, and by the time I had seen my new one and got referred to an allergist, I had lost the job I'd held for 5 years, due to how much my asthma getting worse was affecting my work performance.

I wish that I was asking to fund something that would help with my ear condition. However, I am simply requesting donations to help correct my mistakes and provide some alleviation and relief while still dealing with this horrible ear condition, and at least manage to make my way towards getting proper, professional help. Now that I am dealing with the same mold issue again, I am in desperate need of treating my room once more, to prevent the allergies from getting as bad as before, and to keep my asthma from getting even worse than it is now. There is no way to finance it or to get any discounts, and the price for the service is $600. There are also other bills that must be taken care of, including my phone, car insurance, and financing, and without a current job and a bank account in the negatives, I have no feasible way of affording anything. All funds will go towards the mold treatment service, getting my bank account out of the negatives, and any bills that must be paid off, while also assisting with paying for anything else that is necessary until I am able to get a remote job and work from home. Any donations are incredibly appreciated, and immensely helpful during an extremely difficult and continuously harsh time. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

P.S. To anyone still reading this, whether you donate or not, I want to at least spread one important message across. Protect your ears and preserve your hearing. This condition, and any other damage done, could possibly be the result of negligence, and could happen to anyone. Also be sure to talk to your employers as soon as you develop any kind of medical condition or issue that could pose a threat to you and your work. These were the mistakes that I made, and I hope to prevent anyone from doing the same.