samatx

Hi! I hope you are doing better..

How are you doing now ? Is DNRS helping?

@Heal82 not much progress im afraid, but life has been tough in general lately so i admittedly haven’t been actively working on recovery very much. just trying to get through the days

I don't really like to get into the differences about "physiological" or "psychological" pain. Its all nervous system cells. Doesn't matter if its the auditory nerve, or the auditory center of the brain or the conscious part of the brain. Its all basically part of the same big system of nerve cells. And doctors are clueless about how any of it works or how to treat it.

Perfectly said man, I was thinking this today. I saw a film last night and was so triggered by the alarms in the film

@Lorca its interesting how the brain can amplify its perception of certain sounds based on the perceived source. Sometimes I do a double take when I am watching a movie on a low volume and a gunshot happens - it still sounds LOUD even when the DB level is measurably insignificant. Same thing happened to me with a fire alarm scene in The Sopranos recently. I plugged my ears like I was 5 feet from a siren.

Oh, & as for the whole fear of permanently worsening... I remind myself that nothing is certain. For anyone. Ever. My tinnitus or hyperacusis could increase in severity the next day just as someone else's could begin.

The only difference is that now that I've experienced my injury, I have the knowledge to reduce the chances of that happening (i.e., using hearing protection as appropriate, eating/taking supplements to promote hearing health), whereas most of the general population does not take a second to think about their hearing health :)

@MadeleineHope I’ve been keeping these comments in the front of my brain the last couple weeks, I really appreciate the words. Hope you’re having some good moments this week!

What caused the setback?

@cyberspace fire alarm

@samatx If this is in your apartment, can you place something over the speaker to decrease the level of sound?

I’ve visited parties/bars with loud music, went to a comedy show with loud speakers, went to movies, and even danced at a club for short periods of time (all with earplugs of course), none permanently worsened my condition, though some caused flairs. BUT I’ve limited these activities to my best days ear wise and took multiple days off from loud activities after. I have not attended any concerts.

Also need to mention that this was only after MONTHS of not attending any events with loud music. Probably 5 months before I tried to test those waters.