Warning About Snoring Parters

I wish I had known this earlier in my tinnitus journey so thought I would call it out plainly with a new forum post. I guess for many this is so obvious it goes without saying, but maybe there are some who will have an a-ha moment too.

Sleeping next to a partner who snores loudly will trigger your tinnitus, even if it is under good control.

My husband snores loudly most of the night. I didn't know how much or how loudly - because I fall asleep fast and stay asleep for my 6 hours - until I changed the sleep app I use, Sleep Cycle, to wake me based on sound instead of motion.

It records the snoring as part of its protocol. I would listen to my own snoring, which is pretty quiet most of the time and varies in volume but is clearly identifiable based on pitch and breathing pattern. Then I listened to the other snoring recorded - and WOW.

So one night I measured the decibel level at my ear distance. Over 85 dB routinely, and sometimes louder.

I'm sleeping in another room now. It really helps me maintain the quiet in my head.

 

What if you snore yourself? Then you're screwed I guess.

 

Is there some kind of surgery you can let your partner take to reduce the snorning? Seems like a reasonable price.

 

Well, people that snore often have lower O2 saturation during sleep (sleep apnea) which can make tinnitus spike as it is.

 

Thanks for the info. So I am screwed. Usually tho, I feel better in the mornings. It's only after I've taken a nap my tinnitus seems to spike.

 

In some cases they can use a cpap machine, that will help with oxygen levels.

 

If that surgery can also add a notch around your T frequency, you can turn your partner into nighttime sound therapy.

 

There are anti-snore oral sprays. Try them out first.

 

yes. decapitation.

 

I just sleep with silicone earplugs in... I'd be pretty shocked if my partner's snoring is loud enough to be hurting my ears, but it hurts my sleep quality, so there you go.

I have also found out this year that small children are not so good for your sleep quality

 

I have been sleeping with plugs in as my house is nearish to a main road.

Hoping to break this habit though as surely protecting from snoring and external road noise flirts with or indeed is overprotecting?

 

I couldn't sleep with plugs, don't you focus immensly on your T? Before t I used them all the time because of the nearby road, but since I sleep with some white noise and bird-sounds I actually don't hear the passing cars anymore.

 

I'd guess that ANC and other digital features will become more common in earplugs and wireless earbuds, and manufacturers of these try to tackle this snoring partner problem as well. Some products have actually already been introduced.

I'd guess that there are still some difficulties with battery life vs size, as the ANC requires some heavy processing. And smaller the device, less time it has to process the signal.

 

Bose already has, I went ahead and placed a pre-order... Pretty excited about these bad boys.
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/noise_masking_sleepbuds/noise-masking-sleepbuds.html

 

Bad for your auditory system indeed.
I don't think this was a good idea @AZeurotuner Your tinnitus was caused by acoustic trauma and going to use headphone/sleepbuds and have audio played through them. I wish you the best of luck.
If you notice your tinnitus becoming louder over a period of time stop using them.

All the best
Michael

 

Very interesting @AZeurotuner. I just browsed the link and FAQ's. I hope you will update when you get them.

 

Yeah, thats cool. I actually bumped into those earlier, and commented it here.

 

I'm not sure if I'm going to use the audio on them, my primary objective is to cancel out the twenty million fighter jets, military cargo planes (c-130's that fly SUPER low altitudes) helicopters, and commercial aircraft that fly over the city all day and night. I appreciate the concern though Michael.

 

HI @AZeurotuner

I only commented because you have always been polite and respectful towards me. If you were like some on this forum, I wouldn't have said a word. Please tread carefully.

All the best
Michael

 

@AZeurotuner , please see the second question in FAQ, especially the last chapter, in the link you supplied.

 

Will do... In the mean time I might grab some quiet comfort 20s, from what I've read Bose's noise cancelation on that particular model was tested and confirmed to attenuate sounds by up to 45 decibels. If they're everything they're cracked up to be I should be able to do pretty much anything (save for concerts and shooting firearms) I was able to do before my T got really bad.

 

I always provide my partner with hearing protection when sleeping together, its the right thing to do with my loud snoring.

Dang I might need hearing protection from my own snoringXD Never thought I might risk my health when sleeping..

 

Aw man! Canceling the order, will probably just buy qc20s... Thanks for the save I would have been quite unhappy to pop them in only to find out they NC is passive.

 

Thanks Michael, I try not be too much of a jerk on here, lol. I'd say at this point in my tinnitus "adventure" I've become pretty disciplined, I really do appreciate the concern though my friend.

-Ross

 

No problem. I guess it's just a matter of time when we see similiar products with ANC.

 

For $250 I really expected them to be active, especially considering that everything else Bose makes is ANC. Hell I could put on earplugs and put a speaker under my pillow and achieve similar results... Rather disappointing. Oh well.

 

It's still a good thing that one of the leading manufacturers come out with something like this. It definitely puts some pressure for others to enter the market segment too.

 

In theory, if another mic would be inside the portion of the bud reaching the ear canal, it might be possible to reduce some of the snoring sounds caused by occlusion. Combined with active or passive reduction for the air conducted sounds, it could lead to somewhat lessened sound. The reduction would probably depend on the amount sound that is passed from mouth or throat to ears via bone or some other internal mechanism when the ear is not occluded. Or it could end up having zero results. Or even to increased sound pressure level, if I forgot to take something into account. Or there might be some additional variables affecting the results that I'm not aware of, and I'm quite sure there are.

 

You sound like my wife.

 

I snore. I just wonder if I have been damaging my hearing all of these years and did not realize it. Akso with sleep apena there is the blood flow thing to the ears.

I never got a cpap because I have always had trouble falling asleep. Figured I never would with a machien hooked to me.

Great another thing to kick myself over. Just what I need.