3 Years and Still Alive

3 years since my car crash and the airbag blast => very loud, intrusive noise induced tinnitus.

I'm far much better, still bad days which p*ss me off, but the distress has gone away.

I can read books again (crosswords soon), listening music with high quality speakers (no headphones, they kill me even for MOOC courses at work), watching movies till the end, sleeping my 7 hours, diving, sailing, enjoying my family, all the things I thought lost forever. I'm even considering enrolling into a PhD (I must be a masochist).

I can even take some naps and wake up at the same T level as before falling asleep (was hell before).

No T when I wake up at night to pee (brain is 80% off).

That's it! That's my story and I decided to give a little of my time these very last days to Tinnitus Talk without which I wouldn't be "here" today.

 

I am sorry to hear that you got your T as a result of an airbag. I have been considering disabling airbags in my car. How do you feel about that?

 

Thanks for checking back in. I like hearing from people with loud intrusive tinnitus that are doing okay.

 

@Bill Bauer , as I said in another post, you have to choose between possible T and (!)/or para/tetraplegia... death...
I don't know about the loudness of newer airbags when they blast in "modern" cars, but mine was a 1998 VW Golf IV (250,000 km). The crash tests conducted (in 1997 before the model was released) in Germany for the homologation demonstrated a sound volume of 136db. I talked about young (20's) car injured people around me, none of them got T, but they have young ears and drive small european cars (Peugeot 107, Renault Twingo, VW Up! or Polo)...

 

I read somewhere that modern airbags can be as loud as 170 dB. It is possible that the airbags in your older car were quieter than that in newer cars...

 

170db!!! I'm freaking out!!! Maybe because of lateral airbags in new cars... Unfortunately my windows where closed because of the rain which caused my accident, the sound reflected all over the inside.

 

"The amount of noise associated with airbag deployment from a car accident varies with the type, size and location of the airbag. Deployment of a driver’s side front airbag will generate mean peak sound pressure levels of approximately 160 dB (decibels). A passenger side front airbag will generate mean peak sound pressure level of 168 dB, while dual airbag deployments create a mean peak sound pressure level of 170 dB. When you compare these with the level of decibels that can cause hearing loss, the problem becomes evident. Studies have shown that the pain threshold from noise is about 140 dB and that a single exposure to sound pressure of this level can cause permanent, severe hearing loss.

The most recent development of side airbags as optional equipment in some luxury vehicles has only enhanced this problem. The deployment of a side airbag generates a mean peak sound air pressure of 178 dB."

I will consider keeping my windows slightly open, to allow the sound waves not to bounce around the car......

 

My car has 10 airbags and I would never disable them...

 

Thank you it is always pleasant and comforting to hear people who are better
christophe

 

I congratulate you, I hope in the future everything will be better and better. I wanted to ask you a question - did you take / take any antidepressants, tranquilizers? Have you tried any kind of fizio type needles, leeches.

 

I've heard that 3 years is the point where a lot of people really take back their lives without thinking much about T.

Congrats!

 

I am nearly two years in, and most of that has happened to me also. I'm fitter, stronger and better than I was before the T came into my life. Still, sometimes when it is quiet and I hear the signal, I can't quite say I have reached complete equanimity with it.

I also don't hear it in the middle of the night when I pee. Funny that.