Bike Tire Explosion. Massive Worry.

Hello just 2-3 hours ago I heard a massive bang. My bike tire. And I feel so bad, I always walk around with earphones which dampen sounds with at least 30 decibel, BUT NOW I only had the earplug in my right ear. So my left ear was totally unprotected.

It was already broken but I tried to see if I could pump it up, at 4 bar max, and I heard a massive BANG. and I got instant anxiety. Panic. 10/10. I know that explosions of any kind creates massive decibels.
And the first thread online which I could relate to talked about a hearing loss of 50 decibels! That is massive.

When I am searching on "balloon popping" I get 168 decibels!!!! That is just crazy. 1 normal balloon is 168 decibel, how many decibels is a bike tire than?

I feel totally destroyed. 135 decibel is the max decibel you should face.

I have ringing in both my ears which is weird, I shouldn't have ringing in my right, it was protected.

I always get increased ringing when I have anxiety and panic. I don't know.

What should I do? Am I DESTROYED for life?

 

You'll probably be fine. Loud noises come up unexpectedly and we cannot be protected from them at all times. Additionally, there's no way to really know the decibel level, but theoretical maximums measured in a lab don't have a lot to do with what happened in your one particular instance.

It already happened, so stop reading horror stories on the internet and try to relax.

 

I am sleeping with earprotection just in case some idiot uses fireworks or something else on my street, I always have earphones which dampening alot in my ears but i have been under extreme stress those days and i had walked miles to get to my bike, I had pump and everything with me.

The tire was already damaged and at 4 bar max, it exploded. I realised instantly that I only had 1 of the earphones in and I just gave up. Wanted to die. It has always been my fear to explode a biketire because it is so loud. and now it happened and there I stood with 1 earphone. STUPID!

First hit on google talked about 50 decibels hearing loss... that is just INSANE.
Another hit on google talks about 168 decibel when a balloon pop. 168 decibel. LOUDER THAN GUNS!

I am totally convinced that I will be damaged. So sad.

 

Go to the emergency and ask to get prednisone. It can help, but the earlier it is taken, the more effective it is. The rule of thumb is the number of mg in a pill should be close to your body weight in kilograms. If one weights 135 lbs, that's close to 60 kg, so that person would want to take 60 mg of prednisone per day. A course normally lasts 14 days. If you are lucky, the doctor at the emergency will give you a 7 day supply. The doctor might try to give you a low dose of prednisone (10 mg pills for 3 days). In any case, you can then go to other walk-in clinics and emergency rooms and try to get the right dose. If you can see an ENT on a short notice (today or tomorrow), do that. Hopefully an ENT will prescribe a 14 day course of 60 mg of prednisone. But don't wait until tomorrow - get your first pill today by going to the emergency.

Let's hope the spike is temporary...

 

I walked home in a anxiety trance, first now I even can think clearly.

IF just both was in my ears.

I am going to eat as many calories as I can today just to give the body nutrients doctor tomorrow could be an option but I know what they will say. Only a specialist could do something would ease my mind.

 

You can search for "prednisone" on this site, to see more justification to ask for it at the emergency.

 

You can also try taking N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) supplement.

 

That stuff is not even ordinated here in Sweden because of hearing trauma.
Going to my personal doctor tomorrow will not give anything, he will just say RELAX, REST, SLEEP....

I guess I need to go to the emergency room, and do they even send me to a specialist?

 

If I don't act I will do damage twice but if i act will I get something out of it. NAC I did do research on last time I heard a loud sound and latest research says that NAC does no difference, so they stopped prescribe it to soldiers when they get exposed to loud sounds

 

The evidence that it is at all effective outside of cases of SSNHL is not good at all; a couple studies that show some effect within hours, a couple that show no effect. The evidence that it has potential serious risks and is almost certain to cause short term emotional disturbances is well-documented and not controversial. Reading anecdotes on here should not be convincing to the discerning viewer; single-case uncontrolled reports are sketchy even when performed clinically.

 

That is my understanding too. There are not really anything which improve if you have been damaged. Going to the doctors is only a real option for me if I feel like I would like to test my hearing or get a hearing aid.

I have done some research but then from time to time I get exposed to LOUD NOISES*
But this one is just insane. IF a balloon is 168 then I am just doomed. A bike tire are created of much thicker rubber. Now there was already a hole in the tire so it was not like it exploded fresh. ...
AND WHY DID I NOT HAVE BOTH EARPLUGS IN MY EARS?!?!?!?!?! STUPID STUPID STUPID. I have been so stressed those Days just so much for me to handle inside. And now i got this real thing.

The panic has passed. I am very very tired. No acute ringing however I feel a little damped in the ear left unprotected.

My left ear has always been my best ear, maybe this will change now.

I am obsessed with the decibels, my instant thought when it happened was to take out my phone, bang the other tire and measure the decibel.......
However, it would not bang at the accurate decibel because it is fresh AND a mobile phone is not a good decibel reader.

I am left with uncertainty.
All I can do is searching for treatments, so that is what I am doing.

 

@Kate Winstol

Easy for me to say but please, please try not to worry. Having massive anxiety always makes things worse and its no difference with tinnitus. There is a strong link between tinnitus, emotions and the stress fight or flight response (including anxiety). And the more you think and ruminate over what happened, the worse your T will seem.

Please do try to relax. Do whatever it takes to promote relaxation

 

I always get ringing in my ears when I have anxiety, if I get panic or anxiety, it just gets crazy banana insane.

I have no ringing so this exposure will just be a question about hearing loss. I hope I will not be getting another 50db hearing loss because of exploding tires.
According to another forum is it very much possible.

Crazy decibels it's insane. Well. At least I don't want to commit suicide like before today. I am really, extremely worried when it comes to hearing, it was actually the very first thing I started to worry about. Around 7 years old

 

The trouble with the internet is that that there are many scare stories out there

Go and see an ENT or audiologist and get your hearing tested. The results will hopefully give you some reassurance as to your hearing levels

Perhaps then, you should see a Hearing Therapist or appropriately trained audiologist for some CBT

 

What has happened, has happened. Re-living the event and focusing on it, simply creates more stress/anxiety and possibly a louder tinnitus/spike. Calm yourself down and try to relax. It is horrible, I fully agree, but let your mind relax and move forward...

 

I am sure you would have noticed some hearing loss by now. Have you experienced a "full ear" sensation following this incident?

 

Woke up a couple of times tonight with anxiety and just wanted to deny the world all together.

If i just had earphones in both ears would I be happy and could get some benefits of my extreme safety measures* I take daily to escape sounds. NOW I walk directly into one of my biggest fear. When you least expect things to happen.

I have some dampening in my left ear and ringing in my right ear. I have a theory my right ear was exposed to 138 db so it "recovered faster", maybe the left is so damaged it even can't create tinnitus.

Well today I will search the internet for solutions on hearing loss.

 

I just want to put some questionmarks next to that 168 decibel for a balloon.
I am fairly sure that is a very very unrealistic reading.

It might be the highest they have ever gotten it and BY holding the decibel meter next next to the place where the blast came from.

Every doubling in distance the dB drops with 6.

For instance, imagine that tire was 150 dB measured at 1 cm (which is probably still too much) don't forget that your outside tire probably took a lot of the blow.
2 cm= 144 dB, 4 cm= 138 dB, 8 cm= 132 dB, 16 cm= 126 dB, 32 cm=

You see where this is going?

 

I understand what you are saying but i have worked with those calculators online many many hours and the dampening from 0meter to 1meter is very small. My ears was maybe 1meter from the source.

I know 168 db is crazy loud but if a balloon ever is able to create such loud sounds will a bike tire which is thicker make louder noise. Now my tire was already punctured* and bursted at 4bar but all this is not important, it is just rumination, I will never know for sure.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm

I have used this site waaay to much

If you write in 168db at 1 meter you get 160 at 2meters

it is standard to measure sound source at 1 meter

 

That's my point, people measure things and put it online without saying the distance.
I am pretty sure the same is applied for that balloon. Also the thickness is not always relevant.

I've had balloons exploding which were surely less than 100 dB (on a few metres distance).

 

there really aren't any, and you also do not even know that you have hearing loss from this incident. I think your time would be better spent making a doctor's appointment if you're really worried and then actively and consciously trying to forget about this and move on. Putting a bunch of active anxiety into obsessing over this is literally wiring your brain to make it into a bigger problem.

People, including people with existing hearing damage, are exposed to unexpected loud noises all the time. Mostly they are fine.

 

I have hearing loss and two bike tires exploded near me this summer. No change to my audiogram.

I am confused. @Kate Winstol is your tinnitus actually louder from the tire explosion or are you simply worrying that it will be louder?

 

I am worrying TO DEATH that I will get hearing loss, if a sound is high enough I will get anxiety, this has been the case all my Life, but now when I am adult I have more knowledge and decibels goes together so I have educated myself about decibels and how many decibels from x, y and z source. So I am not panicking when I hear a vacuum cleaner...

When I was small I got tinnitus and got very scared of sounds maybe hyperacusis. I don't know, I was operated, got tubes in my ears, then I did forget about tinnitus. I don't know if I have tinnitus, I mean nerve damage tinnitus. BUT I know that I have tinnitus from time to time. I have some kind of problem with my sinuses however, which creates tinnitus. Could be I have tinnitus from nerve damage so it is not totally quiet when I am focusing and my sinuses is clear, could be I have habituated to that sound from my childhood

I guess I am over obsessing over all this but I am just so scared to lose my hearing and this time can be the time. I mean 150 decibel right to the ear, almost guarantees consequences.

1 day and 6 hours have gone and I got some clearance in my ears a couple of hours ago, however I feel like my left ear have a funny feeling.

30 hours from pretty much nonstop obsessing now, I feel very tired.
I guess I need to thank for all the input. As I understand it are there no cures but some people say we are close to regenerating hair cells, I am very interested of the brain not only because of hearing. I guess we just need to hope.

So tired, good night.

 

It is a good sign that your tinnitus hasn't spiked in these 30 hours.

 

Same thing happened to me on the same day, nov 9 2017. Today almost 5 months later I suffer from severe tinnitus. Just because of change of tire on my MTB. I feel so sad about this. Life will never be the same. Living with tinnitus is very hard, sleeping even harder.

 

A balloon popping at very high decibels is from a large helium balloon. Don't compare that to a bike tire popping.

 

You're likely fine. Noise related damage is usually due to sustained loud noises for a long period of time.

 

Well it's 4 months later, I didn't realize 4th date on Pop's original post. I was actaully reading on some bike forums about bike tire popping. They are pretty loud and may create temporary hearing loss sometimes permanent but apparently nothing severe. If it happened outside the noise is easier to dissipate and thin out.

 

I am very sorry for you.

I got traumatized somehwhat and my hypochondria spiraled down and i got depression, which is not a good thing.
I do have tinnitus in some sense now i don't know if it is because of sinuses and liquid in my ears because it goes and comes. But i do think i have some tinnitus from when i was a kid.

I am sorry for you, i don't think my tinnitus got worse or my hearing got worse. I love music and listen to it on low volume a lot. Could be that my hearing have decresed since i was a kid because i remember when i was a kid and listen to music, i just think that it was a bigger experience. I was actually thinking about that, what if people get used to hearing less? I do know that i have some problems with my sinuses or such because when i am training do i get stuffed in my ears. I also have stomachacid which makes it worse. Someone else here who have a link between stomachproblesm and the hearingmechanism? I am not a doctor but doctors on hearing are often specialized in easrs, throat and nose. Why is that?

I guess we will hear some day when we can regrow cells. That was the reason i got back here, because i love this forum when it comes to the science. Even if it turns out i am ok, can i feel the despair in in others.

Take care and hope you can find some peace and keep riding your bike!