Bloody Dogs! A Bark (102 dB) Has Just Loudly Spiked My Tinnitus

Dog bark has just loudly spiked my tinnitus.

Little Westie sitting by my feet was clocked at 102 dB (I was actually playing around with sound metre when he barked).

Shit.

Anyone had this? Does it settle?

 

Hi @spikedears. I went through this a few times with my pup. She can be very vocal sometimes. For the longest time when she barked I would think my tinnitus was getting louder. It ended up just being my anxiety and me fearing that it’s going to get louder. The bark can be loud, but it’s very short lived and I wouldn’t worry too much. Try to not monitor your tinnitus and you’ll see that this will pass. Remain calm and positive. Even if it did spike your tinnitus, it will most likely be temporary.

Dave

 

Why did you get a dog that barks? I used to have a dog and I really don't remember that dog ever barking. My friend owns a dog that is a notorious barker. Whenever I visit my friend, I bring along hearing protection. I would say search for quiet dogs the next time you're looking for men's best friend. Such as the German Shepherd, for example, or a Shepherd mix.

 

We got a Frenchie in May. He is not an overly loud or frequent barker but does bark to get up on your lap. I was so anxious about it. I talked to my tinnitus counselor who is an audiologist specializing in tinnitus and who also has tinnitus. He said, fear not. It will not damage your hearing. He listed a breed of dog (never heard of the breed) and a certain type of monkey that can damage your hearing. However, lots of loud barking can spike existing tinnitus temporarily so we are trying to curb the barking. I started wearing earplugs when I drive him anywhere now because he does bark a lot in the car.

My friend has 5 tiny teacup like dogs. I went over to her house and clocked them at 120 dB. I put my earplugs in but I got an awful spike on the way home. Next time I will put them in before I go over.

I hope your spike gets better.

 

Most people with tinnitus who have a loud dog probably got their dog long before they developed hearing issues.

Also, I just realized we're replying to a post from 5 years ago. OP hasn't been on Tinnitus Talk since January 2019.

 

Old but still relevant. Lol - Dog bark just recently destroyed me.

 

If people are content to live with something randomly and regularly producing sounds of over 100 dB, I'd have to question if their tinnitus is really that bad?

This is typical rhetoric from so-called 'experts' and is simply over presumption. You just need to read a few of the posts here. People have had tinnitus worsenings from less.

Just because something allegedly isn't damaging your hearing doesn't mean it isn't permanently worsening your tinnitus. There is a difference.

It will certainly do your tinnitus no harm if you were to live canine free.

 

It depends on the state of you ears. My ears are like glass. I am having trouble living like a hermit. I am sinking deeper everyday. I would say it takes a lot of work to destroy your ears to the point of where my ears are currently. I believe my case to be rare. I am so heartbroken. When a chronic illness takes away everything that defined you, your sense of self can get lost. You need to reinvent yourself because everything you did in life that defined you, you can no longer do.

 

@4Grace, I'm with you, and I can't really say anything all that helpful. I think our brains are just wired slightly differently than most people, so we are more susceptible to "phantom limb" type pain.

I would say, that right now, I'm just "tired". My entire life has been hard, and I'm simply "tired". I'm not really burned out from my employment, my employment actually helps me, I work in a quiet office, everyone here knows not to cause any sudden noise, everyone is careful even closing the door so there is no latch click. I'm tired from leading a hard life, I'm tired from living in a house with conflict, which I've done everything possible to reduce, PTSD from child abuse and all the complications resulted in this hard life. If I could sell my soul to the devil, in exchange for a set of new adopted parents, and my life to do over, I would. Of course, I don't see the devil hanging around anywhere making any such deals.

Not everyone gets dealt the same hand, some hands are just bad, and others are even worse, I don't really have anything more sensible to say.

I stay well away from barking dogs and I keep my hearing protection handy. In my office I don't require anything like hearing protection, at home usually not, unless I'm doing dishes. If I'm outside I routinely wear Bose QC25. This is a person who used to play first violin in the symphony, who has a large collection of music and video, who now watches Netflix turned on low with CC, if I even have the energy to watch anything.

I think I've got long COVID-19 as well.

 

My name is Ferb, I am a Pitbull and Lab mix and I never bark. I love cuddling and bacon bits!

 

I think I clearly said that it could cause a spike. I don’t think that my counselor ever indicated that it wasn’t so, he just said that the decibel level for the short quick barks that my dog barks would not cause permanent hearing damage. My dog has not been responsible for any spikes to date.