5 Helicopters Passed Over

I don't know what to do... Just now, a group of 5 helicopters passed over my apartment. Five..........I had all windows opened. I was on the phone so I didn't realise what the noise was and failed to close my ears with my fingers.

I am so scared that my tinnitus will be worse now and that my hearing is damaged. I am losing my mind. It is my fault for having the windows open.

 

Oh dear. Doesn't it sometimes feel like the world is attacking us? Like... five helicopters passing while windows are opened and you are distracted. Sounds about something that could happen to me as well, there has been some incredibly unlucky setbacks. I think it's just because the world is so very loud and we are well aware of it now.

Firstly, having windows open is not your fault @lifeisover - it's a normal thing to do, it's not like anyone could have predicted this happening at the exact same time. We are not some perfect machines, we are humane. We make silly mistakes each day, which mostly include spilling something, getting a paper cut or putting our shirt on inside out.

The thing is that with tinnitus some things that aren't mistakes, aren't predictable... we still think we should be able to prepare, prevent and just succeed 100 % of times. Therefore I think it's important to accept that there will be setbacks and there will be mistakes. It's really, really hard and I don't know how, as self-blame is my favorite hobby. It never helps tho, does it.

Then back on to the actual consequences of this noise exposure. How near were the helicopters, prolly not very near to the building, right? If so, I think there is a good chance they were far enough to not cause damage. Another thing is, how long did this last? If it was just a moment and the helicopters were not right outside of your window, I'm again quite sure you are alright. If someone was standing at the launching pad of 5 helicopters without hearing protection, then of course it would be serious and s/he would need to be treated asap. Anyway, was there any further signs of damage, like ear fullness or muffled hearing?

Futhermore, I don't think you should be measuring T volume now, as it is likely to increase with panic. Depending on the answers to these questions, I'd rather suggest to distract yourself with masking noises and do something to comfort you. Whether it's your favorite movie or a stroll in the nature. Just doing something else than obsessing will help. Easier said than done, but just try - the smallest thing possible, to make yourself feel a bit more secure.

 

Being that it was helicopters flying over, although, it was very loud, I don't believe the duration of the sound you were exposed to was sufficient to permanently make your T worse or damage your ears. You may experience a spike from it. If you do try to calm yourself down by reassuring yourself that it's most likely just temporary.

Never forget that anxiety and fear in themselves can either cause a spike or exacerbate an existing one. Therefore, the sooner you can reduce your anxiety level, the better.

Take Heart!.... you'll be OK!....

 

They flew towards the house and right over. Maybe at 350 ft height or so... I was too stunned to close my ears. I'm not rational anymore about my ears and tinnitus, I cannot judge if it was enough to cause damage. When it happened I closed the doors of the rooms where the windows were open and went into a room with closed windows. That's all I managed.

 

I doubt it. 1000 ft is the minimum required (Aviation rules).
They just flew over and didn't stay there - so it was a very transient noise.
I doubt you suffered any damage from that.

 

I live in a very small town so occasionally they fly over quite low, at least I could see them very well. I'm in Europe currently and I think minimum altitude allowed here is around 330ft. It looked like they were military choppers (they were completely black). Yes they just flew over but it seemed so awfully loud, especially since they were flying all together in a group. My tinnitus seems louder too. Im really worried about my ears now.

 

I don't think so (source: I was a pilot in Europe - min altitude over populated area is also 1000 ft if I recall correctly).
330 ft is very close to ground. To give you an idea of how close: you could run into an RC quadcopter/drone/heli/etc if you were flying this low.

 

It seems unlikely that the helicopters would cause damage, because you would not be the only one affected as many people have hearing problems, or could develop them as a result of excessive helicopter noise. I'm sure that the military takes the proper precautions to protect the hearing health of the communities these copters fly over.

 

I indeed crosschecked thisa afternoon and the guy from the hotline of the military said they regularly "fly by these regions at round 300ft"

 

Are you near a landing strip?

Also are you sure about the unit? (1000 ft is about 300 m)

 

Were they Chinooks - they can be quite loud? As others have said, if they just flew over and disappeared, it's unlikely the noise would have caused any permanent damage. Try and stop worrying

 

Anxiety is a bigger problem for sone here than the tinnitus itself, sorry to say

 

You were right, in hindsight. It was just my anxiety.