Ambulance Sirens

Hi all -

A quick history: I first developed tinnitus in 2008 after my high school prom. I guess the music was too loud or I stood too close to the speakers. It was quite moderate and was able to cope. I went away to college and managed my tinnitus well. It was almost gone by 2010 but I went to a bar without my usual earplugs and "relapsed", but again learned to cope. Around 2013, I went to church without ear plugs and the music spiked my tinnitus to new levels and I developed hyperacusis. I started TRT and both my tinnitus and hyperacusis again became manageable and I was living a fairly normal life. In 2015, I was walking down the street in NYC and didn't notice an ambulance sitting right next to me in traffic...as you can guess, the siren went off full pelt. I had no protection in and my tinnitus spiked to new intrusive levels. After a few months of physical and mental distress, I was able to somewhat habituate, and now always make sure to have ear plugs in when walking through NYC (I don't linger too much, just from my garage to office, office to lunch etc.).

Now to the point May 1st I was walking from my office to my garage and heard an ambulance coming down the same block as I was walking. Whenever I hear or see an ambulance coming I usually pop on my noise cancelling headphones as well, and go into a store or turn down another block to get as far away as possible. I couldn't get away this time and the ambulance went right passed me, only about 10 ft away. There was a UPS truck in between the ambulance and myself. There was no traffic on the block so it went by pretty quickly. When the ambulance passed, it was obviously super loud, but with my fresh plugs (33 NRR) and noise cancelling headphones, it definitely muffled the sound and I didn't really "feel" the noise in my ears, if you understand what I'm saying.

I am feeling a little full and sensitive, and my tinnitus is all over the place 2 days later, which is normal, but was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and recovered back to baseline? It usually takes a week or so for my bigger spikes to kick in. I am obviously worried since my last experence with an ambulance, though somewhat more confident this time since I had protection in, but those sirens are so damn loud.

Looking for some positivity and support. Much love to all

V

 

I'm sorry to hear about your current relapse, but I really don't think that any damage has been made since you wore earplugs with headphones on top. You seem like you're a very calm person, so I definitely think this spike will pass!

One question about your first bout with T. You wrote that it was almost gone 2010. Do you mean "habituated gone" or actually gone?

Take care!

Ps, awesome profile pic!

 

@Flamingo thank you for the support. When I said "gone" I meant actually gone. To answer your next question (what did you do to make it go away): nothing special, protected my ears if I was going to a loud event, or avoided loud events all together, long walks through the park, yoga, breathing and relaxation excercises. A lot of self care.

But these aren't "cures" rather they are all techniques to help with your reaction to tinnitus. I think the real "cure" for me back then was just time.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my post and reply. Very best to you.

V.

 

Thank you for your answer. Yes time heals... It's true. Can I ask you how loud you're T was at onset? You say moderate, but would you like to explain a bit more? Did you experience spikes during this time as well?