Posted 2/10/2012 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
This is always part of a herx reaction for me. Some days I can't be in the same room as a plastic bag opening, others the doorbell feels like a hit from a hammer.
I've had good results using headphones to combat the problem. I've tried everything, from big active noise cancelling headphones to tiny earbuds. The most effective for me are noise blocking earbuds; basically just a normal set of earbud headphones that seal in your ear canal to work like an earplug as well. You can grab decent ones for $5-10, but if you buy more expensive ones you get different tip sizes to form a better/more comfortable seal in your ear... plus they sound better.
I wear them as earplugs sometimes even when not listening to them. You might be surprised at how much more you can tolerate if the sound is just muffled somewhat; the better ones will shut out quite a bit of noise. I also use them when watching TV during a herx episode. By blocking out the background noise, you can listen to your shows/movies/whatever at a lower volume and still hear everything.
You could also look into a set of wireless over the ear headphones for watching TV with a partner (who won't be wearing headphones). You probably won't wear them around the house like the earbuds, but for relaxing with someone else in front of the TV its an easy and effective way to cut out some background noise and give you your own separate volume control.