3 Week Long Noise Induced Tinnitus (from Drum and Bass Event)

Hello everybody!

18 y.o male from the UK here, been having this ringing in my ears for a little over 2 weeks after a ~6hr drum and bass event.
At first it appeared to decrease in the latter half of the first week/start of second week but then came back for an unknown cause - only thing I can think of I did differently was eat 15 celebrations (don't normally eat much chocolate) and had more cheese than usual...

I currently take 375mg Magnesium supplements and A-Z daily wellbeing tablets along with camomile tea and a lavender bed spray to help sleep. Was taking half a pill of two types of benzos for 2 days (one half pill per day) but decided to stop since they can increase tinnitus? Also not using headphones and trying to stay away from loud noise (thanks Michael especially for those informative posts!). Also trying to get more sleep and eat more fruit for other vitamins for general well-being.

I had tried to go to a friend's party but left after about 20 minutes as ambient noise was just too loud for me at the time (people talking in closed room etc) so I hope that's not done anything bad. Not going to any more bars/pubs/parties for a long time at least.

Stopped my acne medication (Doxycycline) which I am a little worried about as my acne is rather bad. Dr had recently given me propranolol for an as and when basis but I've only had 4 and I'm not sure when, but assuming that wasn't the cause of any change/spike/whatever this is.

It's currently louder than it was yesterday/earlier today and I'm assuming it was because I was on the motorway for about 15-20 minutes a few hours ago? Can hear the high pitch ringing over 30mph car whereas I don't think I could before.

I have to take 2 trains to get home from college which I am worried about - is this a case in which I'd use earplugs? Normal road traffic also? Seen a few times when people have said to not use them in case the ears become more sensitive and others saying this and that and it's all becoming a bit of an overwhelming whirlwind at the minute.

My dad has had tinnitus since his 20s because he used model aircraft without silencers, my grandmother has had it since March 2018 coming back from India and my girlfriend has had it also due to music events but I'm not sure for how long. They all seem to just get on with it but obviously we can't really tell how loud each others tinnitus is and I'm getting caught up in the motions - trouble sleeping, sometimes waking up, crying, feeling hopeless etc.
Especially worried about concentration when studying or during exams which are important and coming up this summer.

I spoke initially with my Dr who said yes I have tinnitus and there's nothing much I can do but wait (and gave my propranolol for if I get anxious due to it). I'm assuming my next steps are to go back, ask for prednisolone and a referral to ENT?
What are these scenarios when people go to the ENT and come out with debilitating ringing (also something I'm extremely worried about), how am I supposed to know what to say yes or no to when they're the expert? Can I go straight to an audiologist at a tinnitus clinic near me? There's one which opens on Wednesday so could easily look into that.

Just want it to go as I'm sure is the case for everybody here and I apologize for the messy sprawl of a post but yeah... Guess that's me at the minute.

As far as I can recall this is my first experience with tinnitus or any ringing after an event but considering people have got it from seemingly much more minor causes I'm assuming my future with the ringing is not so good.

Endless respect for all you veterans and also other newbies too. Definitely won't be messing about risking ears after experiencing this.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2020.

Denimo

 

Give it time my friend. Definitely stay away from loud music and wearing headphones. In a month or two it should get better or stop.

 

Hello, little update: think it's 3 weeks and one day now.

I went to a friend's house to see a handful of people before they went out for new years celebrations. We sat around a table for about 40 minutes or so and I don't think they were being extravagantly loud but my ringing appears to have increased a bit and I'm anxious as to why such a little exposure has resulted in this.

As I said I have to get 2 trains to get home and obviously that ambient noise will be a lot louder than what I just experienced and I'm not sure what to do about it.

I've been doing masking with the 1 hour tinnitus therapy video on YouTube and have been trying to keep some sort of ambient noise on in the background but again I am somewhat worried about my revision and being stuck in a quiet classroom...

Thanks all

 

Keep earplugs with you at all times.

 

How's it going bud?

 

Hello

Still here so it's here to stay I guess, can no longer hear it outside of normal room level noise (eg. Talking, at night etc) and sometimes it gets louder at night maybe depending on what I've been doing during the day or have been eating but it always goes back to room level.

I guess there were 3 big points of note between then and now based on my tinnitus:

1) restaurants: there was a Chinese place a little louder than usual inside so my girlfriend walked in first and asked if I am I sure we should stay but I didn't want to embarrass her and stupidly stuck with it (I wasn't even fully inside so couldn't really hear it). The guy positioned us away from everybody else so I plugged the ear nearest the room opposite my company. That night it was a louder but settled down the next day - this was probably my first proper experience of being affected in day to day life apart from trains (which are now usually fine) so we kind of scout a place out that isn't too busy or with lots of music and sometimes they even have downstairs/upstairs which is much quieter too. We went to an Italian place for valentine's Day and the downstairs was much better than upstairs, had all wooden interior and trees hanging from the ceiling

2) a party at a friend's house last weekend:
Everybody knew I'd be avoiding loud noises and basing elsewhere but I was in the main room for the first 15 minutes or so with the plugs but decided it wasn't worth it (basic plugs so couldn't hear people talk great) and decided to hang out in other rooms or the kitchen with whoever wanted to join me. There was still a speaker or two dotted about but the tinnitus didn't increase at all. I had one beer so maybe it was that but I'm not sure - ears were slightly sensitive the next day but overall nothing much happened so I think I took correct precautions and will look into better plugs just in case.

3) Dentist:
Surprise dentist checkup I've been avoiding for as long as I can. At the end he whipped something out I thought that looked like a drill but it actually sprays water and made a loud high pitch noise which got me extremely anxious after leaving. He left a few breaks in between every few seconds but I couldn't bring myself to say anything it didn't increase apart from maybe my anxiety spiking and getting angry but if so it was undetectable. I thought that'd end up in a permanent spike according to what I've heard here but yeah, will try and work up the courage to mention it next time.

Since it's started I've stopped drinking, have never smoked and had stopped drinking coffee. I went through a period of minimal salt/minimal sugar to the point of worrying my girlfriend but since have been looser on myself and enjoy more stuff. Still no caffeine or alcohol though!
Pretty much drink camomile 90% of time and still take magnesium and multivitamins nightly - not really the ginko though it's expensive stuff and I can't really afford it, not sure about its effect apart from placebo either but it's always worth a try and if it starts to increase I will get back on it.
I refuse to take my anti anxiety medicine and acne medication (which is clearing up naturally! Still got some but it's not as bad) and any other sort of medication in case of its ototoxic risks which makes things hard sometimes.
I've become a bit of a hypochondriac and have identified 3 new issues with my eyes which I end up dwelling on and spike my anxiety. Also got some chronic and quite abnormal issues but I just can't bring myself to go to the doctor and it's reached the point where my girlfriend wants to mention it at her next appointment. Some might be linked to anxiety and depression in general but also might not be of course. There's a lot of familial and educational stress at the minute so it could be that or could also be an actual medical issue I'm not sure. Always had sleeping issues for as long as I can remember (constant waking up/restlessness/not being able to sleep etc) and obviously the ringing had made it a bit worse but it is what it is. I don't really use masking anymore but put on YouTube and drift off to that.

Lost my main passion for street photography as I'm scared to go into town for that long a period around that much noise by myself and I don't really listen to much music anymore which used to be a big part of me. It's not always too loud in the streets but I just don't enjoy it much anymore. No headphones or earphones still and that probably won't change.

There's a festival coming up in August which all my friends (and I!) would like me to go to. It's mostly outdoor drum and bass but obviously also filled with lots of noise and is scary for obvious reasons. I do really want to go because it was a great time last where I really first spent a lot time with my not then girlfriend and it probably would be okay with correct precautions so it's mainly a confidence thing.
I still don't go to raves/events/clubs and even bars anymore but I would quite like to go to this festival

As you can see she's quite a recurring theme in my journey so far and although sometimes I feel like I'm holding her back in terms of going out she's been an absolute star and has been with me at my worst, helping me back to where I am now. She's dealing with me well and now I'm generally okay with the tinnitus I think - I know what I'm comfortable with and she understands it as well as my friends at university whenever I get to see them. Sometimes I'm overcautious but I'm still trying new things and I'm just so so glad she's by my side ❤️

I know mine isn't as bad as many others on this forum but I really hope you do all start to get better or at least one day can become unbothered by it. One day they may come out with a cure and I hope to god you are there to experience it.
Stay safe everybody and sorry for my rambling!