SOUND SENSITIVITY IN LYME
Updated: 2 days ago
Sound sensitivity can make everyday life feel overwhelming. Dishes clattering, the TV, a busy store or even a normal conversation can suddenly feel too loud, painful or exhausting. If this is happening to you, you're not imagining it, and you're not alone. The first part of this post explains why sound sensitivity can happen with Lyme, co-infections and mast cell issues. The second part shares possible solutions that may help.
Short on time or energy? A quick-view graphic with the key points is at the bottom of this post.
Product suggestions are in each linked post. Sign up here first for the Fullscript discount (25% off):
WHAT SOUND SENSITIVITY IS
- Hyperacusis is when everyday sounds feel far louder than normal, and sometimes even painful. It may be in one ear or both, and it can start all at once or little by little (NHS, 2026).
- There are other types too: misophonia, when certain sounds set off strong feelings like anger or disgust, and phonophobia, when sounds make you anxious or afraid (NHS, 2026).
- Dr. Daniel Cameron, a Lyme-literate doctor, explains that sound sensitivity is a sign that something is going on, not a diagnosis on its own. Ear problems, migraine, head injury, medications and the way the brain processes sound can all play a part (2026).
- He also describes noise sensitivity, when noisy places leave you feeling overwhelmed. A busy place can be harder than a single loud sound, because the brain has to sort through many sounds at once (2026).
- Your tolerance can change from day to day with migraine, sleep, fatigue, illness and stress (2026).
- Being sensitive to sound doesn't necessarily mean your hearing is extra sharp (2026). Most people with true hyperacusis have normal hearing tests (UCSF Health, no date shown).
WHAT ILADS AND ILADEF SAY
- ILADS doesn't have guidance on sound sensitivity yet, and its symptom lists don't name it.
- ILADS shared Dr. Robert Bransfield's study of 100 people with late-stage Lyme affecting the brain and nerves. Sound sensitivity went from 3% before infection to 66% after (2020, older source).
- ILADS lists facial nerve weakness, often mislabeled as Bell's palsy, among the signs of early Lyme (updated 2026). Bell's palsy is one of the conditions linked with hyperacusis (NHS, 2026). Dr. Rosalie Greenberg, a psychiatrist on the ILADS board, notes that sound can seem louder on the side of the face with the palsy (2021, older source).
WHY IT HAPPENS
LYME
- Dr. Richard Horowitz includes light and sound sensitivity among the Lyme symptoms that can ease as treatment lowers the bacteria, or flare during a Herxheimer reaction (2024).
- Bay Area Lyme Foundation lists light or sound sensitivity among the symptoms of late-stage or post-treatment Lyme (no date shown).
- The Lyme-literate doctor from the top of this post explains that hyperacusis has been reported with Lyme. Since Lyme can affect the nervous system, sound sensitivity may show up along with headaches, dizziness, ear ringing, balance problems or trouble thinking. He adds that sound sensitivity alone doesn't point to Lyme, so the whole picture matters (2026).
- In their 2018 book, Dr. Brian Fallon and Dr. Jennifer Sotsky explain that Lyme can hit the senses early and hard, and for some people this lingers after other symptoms get better. They compare ordinary sounds to fingernails on a chalkboard (shared by Global Lyme Alliance in 2022).
- In kids: Dr. Greenberg shares a 2005 study of 102 children born to mothers who had Lyme, where 36% had hyperacusis (2021, older source).
- Tulane research: in a 2022 lab study using monkey brain and nerve tissue, even dead pieces of Lyme bacteria set off strong inflammation. This was lab research, not a study of hearing or sound sensitivity in people.
BABESIA AND BARTONELLA
- I couldn't find research that looks at sound sensitivity in Babesia or Bartonella on their own yet. Dr. Neil Nathan does name Bartonella among the most common causes of sensitivities he sees (more below).
- ILADEF explains that when Babesia infects someone who also has Lyme, Lyme may be more severe and tougher to treat (2024).
- ILADEF lists Bartonella symptoms as frequently neurological and psychological, including brain fog, irritability and anxiety (2024).
- A 2024 review from Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt's team at NC State links Bartonella with a wide range of nerve problems, including problems with the cranial nerves (the nerves of the head and face).
- The Global Lyme Alliance writer who shares her sensory overload had Lyme, Babesia, Ehrlichia and possible Bartonella (2022).
MAST CELLS (MCAS)
- In a 2025 survey of 553 people with MCAS and 558 people without it, Dr. Leonard Weinstock, Dr. Lawrence Afrin, Dr. Tania Dempsey and colleagues found sound sensitivity in 47.4% of women with MCAS, compared with 11.1% of women without it. For men, it was 29.8% compared with 5.6%.
- In the same survey, being easily startled by sudden sounds was reported by 44.8% of women with MCAS, compared with 13.0% of women without it.
MIGRAINE
- The Lyme-literate doctor from the top of this post also explains that sound sensitivity is common with migraine. Sound sensitivity that comes with headache, nausea or light sensitivity may point to a bigger pattern than just the ears (2026).
- A 2023 review from UC Irvine lists hyperacusis among the ear symptoms that can be tied to migraine.
- A small 2020 UC Irvine study treated 25 people with hyperacusis using a migraine-prevention plan (prescription medicines plus lifestyle and diet changes). 22 of the 25 said their symptoms resolved, and their sound tolerance improved on testing. There was no comparison group (older source).
AN ON-EDGE NERVOUS SYSTEM
- Dr. Neil Nathan explains that sensitivity to sounds, smells and more comes from a nervous system that doesn't feel safe. He describes the limbic system, vagus nerve and related cranial nerves switching into an overprotective mode, so some noises can bring on a sharp startle (2024).
- Dr. Nathan also says that, in his experience, the most common causes of sensitivities like these are toxins, especially mold, and infections, especially Lyme and Bartonella. The good news he shares: once they're found, they can be treated (2024).
- Dr. Sunjya Schweig, in a Bay Area Lyme Foundation talk, includes "Am I sensitive to noise and light?" among the questions to ask yourself when chronic stress may be building up (2024).
- In their 2018 book, Dr. Fallon and Dr. Sotsky note that strong anxiety in certain places can come from sensory overload, not out of nowhere (shared by Global Lyme Alliance in 2022).
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
1. Treat what's behind it
If sound sensitivity comes from another condition, like Lyme or migraine, treating that condition may help (NHS, 2026). ILADS says chronic Lyme needs a treatment plan built for each person (updated 2026). Talk with your Lyme-literate doctor about the infections, mold exposure and mast cell issues that may be behind it.
Since it can flare during a herx, my herx post may help too.
Learn more and find products here:
2. Noise-reducing earplugs (short term)
May help for a short time in very noisy places, but not all day. Wearing earplugs or earmuffs all the time could make you more sensitive (NHS, 2026; UCSF Health).
3. Sound therapy
Listening to gentle, steady sound at a low level each day, like a white noise speaker or a small device worn at the ear, can help retrain your tolerance. UCSF Health says improvement can take 3 months to 2 years. The NHS also suggests not avoiding everyday noise completely (2026).
4. Calming the nervous system
The NHS suggests relaxation like breathing exercises (2026). A Lyme-literate doctor suggests breathing and meditation for 5 or 10 minutes twice a day (2024). My own advice, from somatic therapy, is in this post:
5. Limbic retraining
A Lyme-literate doctor's book includes a section on retraining the limbic system, the part of the brain he says can get stuck in overprotective mode (2024). Another Lyme-literate doctor shares that his patients often tell him brain retraining helps, and that no one approach fits everyone (2024). I couldn't find research on it for Lyme-related sound sensitivity yet.
6. Magnesium
A 2023 UC Irvine review lists magnesium as a first-line supplement when ear symptoms like sound sensitivity are tied to migraine. I couldn't find research on it for Lyme-related sound sensitivity. My favorites are magnesium malate and neuro magnesium (L-threonate).
Learn more and find products here:
7. Small changes at home and out
The Global Lyme Alliance writer got rid of ticking clocks, waits in the lobby during loud movie previews and sits farther back from the screen. Over time, her tolerance improved (2022).
OTHER OPTIONS LYME-LITERATE DOCTORS AND RESEARCH POINT TO
8. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Research shows CBT with a psychologist or audiologist can ease the distress of hyperacusis. Guided online CBT programs have been studied for tinnitus and also eased hyperacusis symptoms, but more research is needed for hyperacusis itself. Not everyone benefits the same (2025 review; NHS, 2026).
9. A hearing check with an audiologist
An audiologist can test your hearing and offer sound therapy programs (UCSF Health). A Lyme-literate doctor suggests a hearing check when sound sensitivity lasts, affects one ear more, or comes with ringing or hearing changes (2026).
BEFORE YOU START
- Read the warning on each bottle.
- If you have kidney disease, check with your doctor before taking magnesium.
- Magnesium can affect how some antibiotics are absorbed, so ask your doctor or pharmacist about timing.
- If sounds during sound therapy feel uncomfortably loud or painful, stop and let your doctor know (NHS, 2026).
- Please get checked soon for sudden hearing loss, a big hearing change in one ear, severe dizziness, ear drainage, severe ear pain, a head injury or new nerve symptoms (a Lyme-literate doctor, 2026).
MY EXPERIENCE
My nervous system can get wound up very easily. Part of that is my personality, and part of it is how Lyme affects the nervous system. I do somatic therapy every week, and one simple tip from my therapist has been huge for me: go slow. Move slower, talk slower, even picture a sloth. It has helped me feel more calm and in control.
I've also had ear ringing many times since getting Lyme, and it got better as I healed.
MORE RESEARCH WITH MIXED RESULTS
- In the 2025 MCAS survey, medicines helped sound sensitivity less than many other symptoms. Among people with sound sensitivity who took them, antihistamines helped 7.8%, low-dose naltrexone (LDN) 7.7%, and benzodiazepines (a prescription calming medicine) 18.7%. For comparison, antihistamines helped 23.3% of those with migraine-like headaches.
- The Global Lyme Alliance writer shares that sensory overload doesn't always ease with treatment the way other symptoms do (2022).
RELATED POSTS
HEAD PAIN AND MIGRAINES EDUCATION
BRAIN AND NEUROLOGICAL EFFECTS
SOURCES
ILADS, Lyme Disease Basics for Providers (2026)
ILADS, Dr. Bransfield's journal article (2020, older source, still worth reading)
ILADEF, Other tick-borne diseases (2024)
Dr. Bransfield, 100 neuropsychiatric Lyme patients (2020, older source, still worth reading)
LymeDisease.org, Dr. Horowitz, Medical Detective No. 1 (2024)
LymeDisease.org, Dr. Greenberg, youth with Lyme (2021, older source, still worth reading)
LymeDisease.org, Dr. Nathan, sensitive patients (2024)
Global Lyme Alliance, Sensory overload (2022)
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, About Lyme (no date shown)
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, Dr. Schweig, lifestyle tips (2024)
Dr. Daniel Cameron, Sensitive to sound (2026)
Dr. Daniel Cameron, Everyday sounds too loud (2026)
Tulane, Lyme bacteria pieces and brain tissue (2022)
Dr. Weinstock and others, MCAS symptom survey (2025)
NC State, Bartonella and the nervous system (2024)
UC Irvine, Migraine and ear symptoms (2023)
UC Irvine, Migraine plan for hyperacusis (2020, older source, still worth reading)
PubMed, CBT for sound sensitivity (2025)
NHS, Hyperacusis (2026)
UCSF Health, Hyperacusis (no date shown)
Disclaimer: Rise Above Lyme makes no claims about any possible benefit of using any product mentioned within this site. Always consult with your doctor before adding anything. The information shared is based on personal experience, years of accumulated researched resources from Lyme Literate doctors and polls conducted within Lyme groups from actual patient experience using these solution ideas.
Comments