Acceptable Sound Level in dB for Rest and for Work?

Let's suppose I work in a controlled noisy environment... What would be the acceptable db level if I don't want permanent damages and tiredness? (That is for a 7-8 hours period, with breaks).

When at home resting (or walking outside, etc), what's a good resting db level if I still want to watch TV, or listen music, or even, talk to the phone?

Thanks for any info!

 

I think you'll find this article interesting.

http://hearinglosshelp.com/weblog/what-are-safe-sound-levels.php

 

I just read it but is does also for people with T. Are people with T not more susceptible to hearing loss at the same db levels on the site. Or can we have the same db levels as a person without T?

 

jazz, thanks for that link! Super informative!

 

That chart is a bit scary as basically anything nowaday goes above 70Db, even talking with people is around 75-80Db, driving your car, gaming, walking in the city etc etc..

 

I asked that question to several doctors and profs and some audiologists and they all claim that a person with T is not more susceptible to further damage, but since there isnt any real research done about it I don't know who to believe.

What I do know from experience though is that my T gets alot worse when I am exposed to sounds that healthy ears have no problems with.

 

It's a bit strange cause for me, when I do a regular day at the studio (like 7 hours of 80-85 db lvel max), I feel better in the evenening/night! And when I have a few days in a row in the studio, it's the same ... Like if sound helps me to relax.

My T are more present when I'm off for a few days in a row... Then is escaladate to it's full crappy potential :S

 

@davidchampoux I know you're wearing an excellent pair of musician's ear plugs while you're playing with moderate-to-high sound attenuation.

Some musicians, e.g., Cold Play, claim that their tinnitus stopped getting worse once they began protecting their ears. Others, however, do talk about their tinnitus worsening over time. You need to listen to your body, and perhaps take some vitamins or supplements that might help your ears handle the extra noise exposure of playing.

@Bart I don't know of any research that examines if tinnitus ears are more susceptible to further damage than normal ears. But I do believe our ears our more sensitive.

A few months ago, I found a research article that examined the neural activity in people with tinnitus and in people without tinnitus while each group listened to sounds. (I believe each group listened to music, but I am not certain.) Most interesting, when the sounds stopped, the neural activity associated with the noise ceased in the normal group--but did not in the tinnitus group. To the tinnitus brains, the stimulation was still very much present.

To me, this article explains the phenomenon of reactive tinnitus. For some people, hearing certain sounds just sets their brain off in a cacophony of abnormal neural activity, which they may perceive as a tinnitus spike. I, for instance, cannot listen to music for more than a few minutes without typically causing a tinnitus spike that lasts between 24-48 hours. And I never listen to music loudly. So the spike is not from further damage to my ears; rather, it must be from my brain's inability to process musical sounds. Such sounds abnormally stimulates my brain, and the stimulation continues until the activity eventually wears out.

Long story short, we all need to be mindful of safe noise levels as we live our lives as normally as possible. But we also need to listen to our bodies and act accordingly if certain noises or noise levels cause our tinnitus to spike or become louder.

 

@jazz, once again, thanks for your precious info!! Can you elaborate on what vitamins/supplements you are referring to, please? I'm lost regarding this...

 

Years ago a doctor told me anything louder than a vacuum sweeper is bad. I've read that several times since.

 

Magnesium and NAC are protective against hearing loss. You need to watch how much you take, however, especially long term. I would not exceed 200 mg of magnesium or 600 mg of NAC on a regular basis because no one knows if--over a long period of time--these supplements can also harm us. (Short term both supplements should be fine with few or no side effects.) That's my only issue about supplements: they may help lower tinnitus and prevent or mitigate hearing loss. But no one has done long term studies on them.

Anyway, here are some threads on NAC and magnesium:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/magnesium-for-relief-of-tinnitus-research.212/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/suggestions-for-magnesium-dosage.5518/



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