Warning: Parts text they might upset some readers
For the past 18 months, Karen Cook has been living with a rare medical condition that causes her everyday sounds to cause unbearable and debilitating pain.
"Something as beautiful as my children's laughter is torture for me," she tells the BBC.
The 49-year-old suffers from painful hyperacusis, a condition that often causes her to shut herself away from her husband and sons.
"Sound is everywhere - it's like air, you can't escape it," says Karen, from Southport in the west of England, not far from Liverpool.
All noises, even the rustling of leaves or the traffic passing by her house, can cause Keren unbearable pain.
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Her condition is so serious that on Christmas Day she had to watch from another room as her sons, who are seven and 11 years old, excitedly unwrap presents.
He can't find any medicine for it, or even a treatment that would relieve the pain.
She says that her hyperacusis appeared in 2022 relatively suddenly, and that since then it has only gradually worsened.
Although it could be caused by sound trauma, research shows that some people are destined to suffer from it.
What is hyperacusis and how is it different from tinnitus?
There are different types of hyperacusis, which differ in severity.
The UK National Health Service website says that "you may be suffering from hyperacusis if some everyday sounds seem much louder than they should be".
"It can sometimes even cause pain," it says.
"You might be bothered by sounds like a coin clinking, a dog barking, a car engine, someone chewing or a vacuum cleaner."
Hyperacusis is sometimes accompanied by more frequent and well-known tinnitus.
Tinnitus is the name given to the condition when you hear sounds like buzzing or whistling, but which do not come from an external source.
Watch the video: The life of people who are sensitive to sound
Karen now, even when alone at home, wears earplugs and earmuffs.
The only way to communicate with her is through whispers or written notes.
"My house is a prison," she says.
"Sound holds me captive."
Describing the pain she feels, Karen says it's like someone "poured hot lava into her ears".
"My head is on fire, my whole body hurts, especially behind my eyes. The type of pain is like a migraine, you want to open your head to release the pressure."
When asked how this situation affected her life, refraining from crying, she says in a "catastrophic" way.
"I miss being a mom, I miss the commotion when the kids come home from school.
"I miss my life, I sat and watched through the window as they opened Christmas presents, because it was too loud for me to be in the same room with them, and they would come to the window and show me what they got.
"It completely erased me as a person."
Karen says she misses a lot of the parts of life that people take for granted.
"I miss listening to music, watching TV or movies with sound, chatting with friends on the phone," she explains.
"I miss wearing nice clothes and make-up, going out with my husband Nik."
She used to be, she says, "very attractive" and loved to go camping and skiing.
"I was always on the move," she says.
"My life literally ended overnight."
During that time, Nick states that because of her condition, he is losing his "best friend" that he had for more than 20 years.
"Life has been an adventure," he says.
"We wouldn't make any plans, we'd just go out somewhere for the day and wherever we ended up would be fantastic."
"On a trip of any kind - we bought a station wagon during covid - a nature hike, a football game, any excuse to get out and just hang out."
He says that the life of the whole family has changed radically.
Karen worked in the airline industry for 25 years, a career she says was "not just a job," but part of her "identity and independence."
She also met Niko at that job.
A large part of their life has changed beyond recognition.
"It's literally Groundhog Day," says Karen.
"Every day is the same. "Honestly, if I didn't have children, I would have given up, but we will try and fight, we will try to find someone - anyone - who could help."
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Ken Devore, who has lived with the condition for 30 years, says some people can experience improvement over time.
Devor, an official with the American charity Hyperacusis Research, adds, however, that there is "no real treatment method" for the condition.
"I would say that time, quiet environments and avoiding noise are key to dealing with the situation I'm in and keeping it from getting worse."
Doctors also advise some patients to reintroduce sounds such as white noise, which can help raise tolerance levels.
That didn't work for Karen, though.
She also tried various medicines and holistic therapies, but none of them helped her.
However, she says she is "determined" to find a cure.
First of all because of her sons, who tell people that their mom has "rotten ears".
"One day a cure might be found, I promised myself I would try everything I could."
Also watch this video: Life with ataxia
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