Recent content by Badger55

I have never been able to hear anyone while wearing my Peltors. I can hear with foam plugs, though. Peltors are quite effective at blocking sound.

In 1992, I was exposed to a large explosion on a construction site. I immediately noticed a loud, high-pitched squeal in my left ear and a quieter high-pitched squeal in my right ear. I experienced all the usual symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, exhaustion, and fear for the future, and I had no...

I noticed slight improvement toward the end of the first year. However, I continued to struggle well into the second year, masking for sleep and occasionally taking Clonazepam. That medication definitely helped me sleep better, but I was warned about dependence, so I used it sparingly. The...

Hello. I took Nystatin for thrush for a week, and it did not cause a spike in my tinnitus. Good luck.

Try playing music on a Bluetooth speaker at around 30 dB. That helped relieve my depression. Your tinnitus is idiopathic, so it should subside over time — you have better odds than most. Hope is a powerful weapon against tinnitus. I was at a 9 out of 10 from an acoustic shock explosion for over...

Carry a decibel meter with you at all times. If the reading goes over 90, get away immediately. Earplugs can fail if they’re not inserted properly, and even when they are, they usually provide only about 15 to 20 dB of attenuation. Reactive tinnitus can permanently worsen with noise exposure...

What a horrific experience after all the progress you made in the past 8 months. My heart goes out to you. But there is hope. A smaller motorcycle, for example, a 250 cc, would put around 85 to 95 dB at your ears from a distance of 50 feet. If you were plugging your ears most of the time, that...

Be careful with that. If you have significant hearing loss in high frequencies, they will need to play the sound quite loud to determine your threshold. In my case, during a test on October 31, 2024, my threshold was measured at 87 dB at 12,000 Hz. This meant I was briefly exposed to 90 dB at...

If your spike is idiopathic, meaning not associated with loud noise exposure, an ototoxic drug, or physical trauma, it is likely temporary and caused by stress or another trigger that will reverse over time. In the meantime, stay in environments below 70 decibels and make sure you get as much...

My car has been fitted with noise-dampening material in the doors and floors. I usually drive for short periods on smooth roads, and the average sound level inside the car while driving is between 58 and 68 dB. I believe the spiking while driving is fairly minimal.

Your hearing is probably permanently compromised. Stop using headphones, even at low volumes. Use Bluetooth speakers instead, and don’t wait for your tinnitus to become permanently severe.

You should be getting the maximum possible attenuation. Car travel is very risky for reactive tinnitus. I use Peltor earmuffs with foam plugs underneath.

I’ve been dealing with this for 34 years. An 80-decibel exposure with earmuffs would bring the level down to the low 60s at least. The tinnitus aggravation should be temporary, although it can sometimes take a long time to settle. Focus on relaxing and getting enough sleep, and things will calm...

I am guessing that the noise you were exposed to was on the lower end of the scale when it comes to damaging sounds, and that your prospects for near full recovery are very good. In 1992, I was exposed to a huge explosion in the room where I was working. It caused the sudden onset of very severe...

The biggest determinant of how fast you will heal is how quickly you return to normal sleeping patterns. Since April of this year, I have been suffering from an acoustic shock caused by a high-frequency hearing test that exposed me to 12,000 Hertz at 90 decibels. This turned my mild to...