I Was Around a Crying Baby for a Few Seconds. My Tinnitus Is Twice as Loud Now!

Hi everyone,

So 2 days ago I was exposed to a crying baby a few times that lasted a few seconds each time. Woke up yesterday with increased tinnitus and a weird sensation in my ears. My ear cracklings are worse too.

Please help me! What should I do?

Should I run to the urgent care and get some prednisone? Will my ears heal? I already had a high pitch tinnitus in my right ear and a static one in my left ear but it seems to be doubled now.

I am also a college student and tinnitus is torturing me so bad I can't focus on my studies.
I am starting to think suicidal thoughts again.

Please help me.

 

Sorry to hear that things seem worse right now. I my opinion, it is way to early to panic. First of all, you have only had Tinnitus for about 3 months from apparently a one time loud noise experience. Based on this little bit of knowledge I would suggest that you have a very good chance of seeing your Tinnitus get much better in the next few months. So hang in there, and during this time try to protect your ears as much as possible.

I would bet that this spike from the crying baby is only temporary. You might also think about putting a pause on your college studies and just taking maybe a few months break and lower your stress as much as possible during the next few months and allow yourself the best chance of getting the Tinnitus to reduce. It may not ever go away completely, but there is definitely a threshold where it can get to where it won't interfere with your daily responsibilities like it is now.

It's really a bummer that this happened to you at a young age, ...but it did. It's now your job to face it, and deal with it in the best way you can, so you can go on and have a normal life. Trying to cope with college at this time may not be the best environment to lower your stress and get a grip on this. Later on, maybe you will be able to use this time to write a paper on your experience with Tinnitus that will serve your college studies. We all need more of that from people like yourself. Pulling for you.

 

When I was a few months in I was around a 2 year old for 3 hours playing barbie with her (and she was screaming every 5 seconds [the 2 year old, not the barbie]) ...my tinnitus spiked for a few hours but went away the next day. Perhaps give it time?

 

@JohnFox thank you for your kind words.
I am really disappointed at my life right now and thought college would shift my focus from my tinnitus but it’s only accumulating to my stress. I tried to protect my ears as much as I could and wore earplugs everywhere. I think I may have made them more sensitive by overprotecting, however, I had some exposures that were out of my control because it is life! Things happen and we can’t always stop them from happening. I’m only trying to cope with this but everytime something holds me back and puts my tinnitus to where it first started.

 

I was even wearing my musician ‘s earplugs which I believe has a 15 dB protection. Because we were at my friend’s house and I wanted to be able to hear them talking. It’s two days passed now and I still have this high pitched tone that seems to be killing me from inside. I hope it subsides otherwise I won’t be able to live.

 

I got a tinnitus spike (after exposed to loud talking) 40 days ago. Tinnitus in right ear is louder than in left.

 

Has it subsided?

 

Sorry, but no.

What is your tinnitus like?

Mine is like brown noise.

 

Crying babies are quite loud. They can be about 120 to 130 dB. However, you had musician earplugs that would provide some protection. Also, need to factor in how far away you were.

These spikes often do subside, although when the tinnitus gets loud it is quite discouraging.

Wearing earplugs continuously is overprotection, and not the answer. It will make anyone sensitive to moderate and louder sounds. It can induce tinnitus on its own. It can also cause an earwax impaction, which is also a cause of tinnitus. Therefore, make sure to take some breaks from them. and have some quiet time at home without any earplugs.

My tinnitus usually sounds like the tape hiss of a blank section of an analog cassette tape.

 

At this point it's an obvious fact that a wounded cochlea is far more susceptible to damage then a healthy cochlea and until doctors realize that we are going to continue to suffer and be told it's all in our heads.

The 85 dB limit is a dogma, a wounded cochlea is more prone to damage from noises a normal person can tolerate.

 

Totally agree with this. While OSHA thinks it is 85, in Europe it is lowered to 80. However, the wrong exposure, particularly if unexpected, can spike someone who already has T from some NIHL. Along the way, I was getting spikes from exposures in the 60 db's.

 

A damaged cochlea is a living hell to deal with.


The people that advocate habituation don't have frequent tinnitus spikes, loudness hyperacusis, MEM/facial nerve issues or noise induced pain. Some people get lucky and have tinnitus in the super high frequencies without any noticable hidden hearing loss as well.

The biggest proponents of habituation and learning to live with it are the ones that get lucky don't realize tinnitus *can be part of much larger problem linked to peripheral neuropathy of the cochlear nerve fibers caused by loud noise injury.


Habituation would be a lot easier if one's ear didn't feel like a open wound 24/7.

 

I guess we really are fucked if 60 dB can cause further damage.

EDIT: if those spikes can become permanent at least

 

first thing is to try and stay calm and distracted.

 

@Linda_na As others have said, rest your ears and use sound precautions, but situations will happen. It's almost impossible to avoid all sources of uncomfortable sound. I often tell the nurse to pull the blood pressure Velcro strap off my arm slowly, but they often don't understand my reason why. Our society has noise everywhere and most people don't understand noise sensitivity even when told and that includes healthcare providers.

If you also hear popping and crackling sounds when swallowing or moving your jaw then blood work, other tests and examinations are needed. Many that get cracking sounds of ears and joints also have dehydration. Drinking more water is not the answer within itself, but our body needs water when we hear sounds coming from it.

 

The loudest human scream ever recorded reached a peak of 129 DB. A babies cry is not that loud. I have a little baby...I know.

Here is a youtube video of the contest for loudest scream ever:

Ultimate Guinness World Records Show - Episode...

Trigger warning turn it down. Screams start 4:36

These people could barely top 110 DB. So yeah...

This isn't obvious because facts don't agree with your statement. In fact, studies suggest that after initial damage there is a protective element. The increased sensitivity is likely "in your head" due to a maladaptive neuroplastic response.

Fact: Acute nerve damage stops sending pain signals after three months. Your brain and spinal cord are the cause of pain lasting longer than that.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/crying-baby-hearing-loss-jean-barnard-claimed-lost/story?id=11253932

Confirms 130 db's for a baby's scream.

 

How? Because of a general quote in an internet pub? Lol... you serious?

 

Have you ever got spikes from your baby screaming or crying?

 

I have a toddler and I believe it.

 

Source please.

 

www.tamethebeast.org
He is recognized as the world’s leading pain scientist. Enjoy!

 

Tinnitus is an ever changing beast intrinsically tied to your emotional state. I’ve had spikes from tying my shoe. That being said... the only time T enters my headspace is when I come here to participate with this lovely community we have.

 

True, but we don't know where that limit is. No science on it.

 

Do you have a link to this? I would like to use it in the future in discussion here.

 

So, have you had permanent spikes?

 

the short answer, going solely on a strict understanding of the definition of the word permanent, is no.

 

That’s a relief for me.

 

Pretty good description of what my T sounds like too. I used to tell people it sounds like an untuned radio in my head, but your description nails it, although the younger generation may not know what the heck your talking about when you mention "analog cassette tape". Huh??

 

Yes, kids these days only know digital, and have no idea what analog stuff even is. To be even more accurate, it is like the tape hiss with the Dolby noise reduction enabled, which made it hiss even a little but more.