Back to Normal

Its been a while since I have posted on here and thought it was time I posted my story.

29th May 2016, a date I will never forget. I was exposed to a powerful external alarm sound for maybe 10 minutes at close range 125 dB.

At the time I had no idea just what damage exposure to loud noise could do. I knew loud noise could damage hearing but I didn’t know anything about decibels or how loud was too loud or how long
one could be exposed to noise before it becomes dangerous.

The next day morning I had a loud squealing, beeping, pinging noise mostly in the left ear. I assumed this would go away over time. Tried not to worry about it. One week later it was still there, 2 weeks later it was still there. One month, two months - Still there.

I went on holiday with my family mid July 2016. The plane seemed very loud. Uncomfortably loud to me yet no one else seemed bothered by the noise. (I now know this to be hyperacusis) 2 weeks on holiday I could still hear the ringing, pinging noise in my ears but still I tried to ignore it and thought it will go away, just takes time.

When I got home from holiday I started to panic. This wasn’t going away. I noticed music didn’t sound the same, everything sounded like it was coming from a broken speaker. I also noticed my balance had been affected, Depression set in and by November (6 months in) I was in a very dark place.

In decided to go for a hearing test at a local hearing aid centre and was told I had damaged my hearing in the 4K threshold and this was causing the tinnitus. The loss was very mild at -5db but obviously enough to cause tinnitus. I was told that after 6 months the tinnitus would be permanent and I will get used to it! (Easier said than done)

My depression was getting worse and I went to see my doctor who prescribed antidepressants which I wasn’t interested in. This in my mind was physical damage and not something antidepressants were going to fix. I had never taken antidepressants anyway so I using alcohol to help take the edge off. The doctor setup an appointment with the NHS ENT which to this day has never been provided despite the doctor saying I would be an express case due to my mental state at the time.

Fast forward one year. Tinnitus still there but it was reduced. Hyperacusis had gone Music sounded better but the problems still existed. Overall I was feeling better and I had now learnt a lot about tinnitus, hyperacusis, decibels and most importantly - Hearing protection.

My favourite Band Guns n Roses were playing at Slane Castle, Ireland on the 27th May 2017, This was an outdoor concert, I now had custom musicians hearing protection and attended the concert. It was an amazing show and actually wasn’t that loud as was an outside concert. I did regret attending the concert the next day as tinnitus seemed to be much louder but I also had a terrible hangover from drinking too much Brandy and Guinness at the concert.

A few days later things returned to what I now called normal. I was feeling much better and getting on with my life. Tinnitus was still there but it was much more manageable and things started to sound normal. I had accepted that this will be with me for life and as annoying as it is. Things could be worst. Much worse.

Summer 2017 - Holiday time again. I purchased Bose QC35 headphones. These have amazing noise cancelling features and I had no issues flying with these. They take the jet noise and turn it off. Awesome

November 2017 - 18 months later.

I noticed my hearing seemed to be much better. I had periods were I couldn’t hear the tinnitus even if I was looking for it sometimes for days, then all of a sudden it would be back. Music sounded great again and I was in a much better place
Mentally. Obviously avoiding loud noise but if I wanted to go to see a show with
My family I would go and use my ear plugs.

It was February 2018 this year I had another hearing test - Normal.
No -5 dip at 4K, Tinnitus was gone, when I say gone I mean gone, no ringing, no pinging, no hissing. Gone.

As I write this message now, In bed. All I can hear is the rain on the window and the Mrs Snoring lol

So it is possible so noise induced (acoustic shock) to go away. I’m sure the damage is still there but in some way the inner ear can and does heal but takes a long time, Obviously I will always be careful around loud noise. It’s something that will be with me forever now.

It takes time, it was a good 2 years before I could honestly say it was gone for me. Despite being told it would never go away, learn to live with it etc etc don’t give up hope and if it doesn't go away you can get used to it. It’s not easy and it’s hard for other people to understand how bad it is if they have never experienced it.

This past weekend I was due to attend a show with my family. (Shrek the musical) I forgot my earplugs and made the decision to skip the show. Just not worth it for me.

If anyone needs a chat or some advice if I can help in any way just send a message

The help I received from the members on this forum was of great help to me when I was in a very dark place and I thank you all.

I still check in from time to time. Hearing awareness is something that needs to be improved. People just don’t understand what loud noise is and how damaging it can be.

I hope this helps some people suffering. It does get better. It just takes time and lots of it.

Stay strong

 

@Jason C

Thank you for posting that. Myself and so many others on the site need to hear stories like these. Time truly is the greatest healer.

 

Hello. Very inspiring. Great post.

I am reaching out asking if you would please read my last thread. If you could, really give it a good read through and it would be great if you could offer your opinion, any tips, or assurance.

Thanks!

 

Happy for you. I always say the same but the safe way its to avoid concerts. T can comes back worse. My ringing came back with ear plugs.
Only my opinion

 

I love this post so much. Thank you for writing it! 7 weeks in and I needed to hear it.
good thing I have absolutely no desire to go to concerts.

 

Thank you so much for writing this

 

I don't understand the dip of -5db at 4khz. Actually -5db is not a hearing loss ? Who told you that ? This perfectly normal hearing.

Maybe it was -25dbhl ? (5db below the normal threshold)

 

Didn't you make a post about music sounding broken? did your hearing recover?

 

Can I buy your cochleas?

 

The audiogram ran along the 10db line which is normal but I had a dip at 4k where it drops to 15db, although its not actually seen as hearing loss unless it is below 20db this still showed loss or damage at 4k

After doing a new test now though my hearing is fine across the 10db threshold although these tests are only up until 8k, Testing my own hearing I can hear up until 15.5k however at the time of the first hearing test and when I had horrible tinnitus I could not hear above 11-12k testing my hearing myself.

Yes I did indeed, that was very difficult for me as I love music. All sounds great again now though thankfully.

They are priceless

 

you sure you don't wanna stick around and help us advocate for research so those who do have muffled hearing get help?

 

!!!!

 

Happy for you and I am hoping the same miracles can be said with other types of tinnitus. Most success stories I read are that of noise induced tinnitus.

 

Most success stories I read come from TMJ, head injury or medication stories. I feel like its a mixed bag.

 

Here's a link: -- Seeking Answers/Closure — Do I Have Tinnitus?

 

Damn, that was a great read. I read some of your older posts, that was an amazing recovery.

 

More stories like this please, we need them badly for our morale.

 

Thank you for giving us hope!!!!

 

I love this.

 

Hi Jason C. I reached out to you last year when I was struggling with it. Well I too am MUCH BETTER then 9 months ago. I still have a very faint high-pitched ringing in very quiet places And a little distortion in my left ear. But overall I’m way way better and it’s quieter. My mental state is much better as well, which I’m sure helps. I don’t use headphones anymore, and I definitely protect my ears from now on.

 

How much better would you say it got? Also did your ears ever feel full since you go tinnitus?

 

@rdz It got much better. There are times now when I wake up in the morning and walk in the my closet and really can’t hear anything. But then at night I’ll lay down in a quiet room and I can hear the faint hissing. It used to be an audible tone.

I know you’ve heard it 1 million times, but I really do think the way I reacted to it in the beginning made it worse. I was a nervous wreck, super anxious and not eating. I’ve since gotten on a low dose of anti-anxiety medication which has helped tremendously. I Should have been on that way before I ever got tinnitus.

And yes my ears did get full. That lasted a while. They would even click when I’d hear a high-pitched noises. Like if you took two pieces of glass or metal and bang them together my ears would click. All that has subsided. My ears do get full on the elevator at work now. Which never happened before.

 

Can I ask what anti-anxiety med are you taking? What effects does it have on you?? I want to try and see if it helps me.

 

Hello!

I have had my tinnitus for 7 months now. Hyperacusis is gone or almost gone (still have noise sensitivity with pain). This thread gives me so much hope.

 

Hello, @Jason C

I have a little question. I am 7 months in with my hyperacusis and tinnitus. I believe that H is almost gone (I still have noise sensitivity with mild pain in my ears, allover the head, neck and even back sometimes). I do not feel that everyday sounds are louder than they actually are anymore but I still have mild pain and hear my tinnitus. I want to ask is it a good sign that my tinnitus is turning more and more into a gentle hissing sound. Other different tinnitus sounds like firecrackers in the distance, the whooshing sound etc. are slowly becoming more and more quiet. I feel that soon my main sound would be similar to an old TV signal, or a gentle hiss, something like that. Is it a good sign to have such changes? Also, I've reached the phase when I usually do not hear my tinnitus outside but noisy traffic and especially motorcycles are still a problem for me so I plug my ears with professional musician's earplugs.

 

Was it something you have done or was time the healer?

 

Time

 

I don't think any ENT or audiologist would say that a drop from -10 dB to -15 dB at 4 kHz means you damaged your hearing at 4 kHz. That's just nonsense, really.

That does not make any sense...

 

Hello!

Jason, I want to ask how you felt when you were 10-11 months in with your condition. Was it still bad or you started to cope much better? Every day I am trying more and more to return to normal life. I can actually get through the day without thinking about my condition much but my evenings are still hard.

 

Hiya

At 10-11 months, almost a year in I wasn’t doing very well but I was trying to get back to some sort of normal, All I can really advise is to give it time. Try and keep busy and focus on the loves of your life