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One day eight years ago – having listened to excerpts from films including The Matrix with his elaborate home-theatre set-up the previous night – Munson awoke with "my head in a ball of sound," he said. The ringing worsened over time, spreading from one ear to both and expanding from one steady tone to several fluctuating ones. This time, the ringing didn't go away. Instead, it worsened over time.
Soon afterward, Munson also developed mild hyperacusis – a sensitivity that renders everyday noises uncomfortably loud or even painful. He describes his tinnitus as a screaming, constant multi-tone with no real-world correlation. Now he gets an ache in the ear canal from the hum of the refrigerator and the snap of a pop top. To avoid clinking dishware, which causes him ear pain, his family eats from paper plates.
The home theatre gathers dust.
"Your ears have a budget," he said. "Spend it too quickly and you're broke."