Buzzing Ears After Being Several Hours Outside in Traffic Noise etc?

Sometimes when I have been out several hours in an environment where there is traffic noise and such I notice that when I get home my ears have started buzzing. I'm experiencing it right now and it annoys the crap out of me.

It feels very psychical, like something inside the ear (the eardrum?) is actually shaking/vibrating/buzzing. It fades away after a couple of hours.

Is it my hyperacusis which have been challenged or what? It 100% feels physical so it can't be tinnitus can it?

 

The affects that you are feeling is not unusual with "noise trauma" to the auditory system @TheDanishGirl. The good thing is that the noise quietens down. You may experience this for a while but eventually it will subside and go away. You are travelling on a path/road that many have taken before you including me. This process isn't easy but it's important that you go out in the environment even if you have to wear noise reducing earplugs sometimes (not foam). Please do not do what some people do in this forum and stay in their home because of the fear of sound spiking the tinnitus. This will only prolong the problem. The auditory system needs to be supplied with natural everyday normal sounds. You are doing the right thing even though it is unpleasant, it will get easier in time. Anything good doesn't come easily. It is the effects of hyperacusis.

Michael

 

Consider protecting your ears whenever you are outside of your home.

 

No....no doubt that will make the hyperacusis worse

 

You are right @TheDanishGirl Sorry @Bill Bauer can't agree with you on this one. Protecting the ears will make the hyperacusis worse. For a short duration it is okay but not everytime a person leaves their home, this makes the sensitivity to sound worse. Please read my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it. I once counselled a woman that was afraid to go out of her home because of hyperacusis. Eventually, she couldn't tolerate the sound of the: dishwasher, kettle, fridge or mircowave. She even complained of the sound of falling rain on her conservatory glass roof. Thankfully, she has made improvement.

Michael

 

If one were to protect the ears 24/7, then yes, H might get worse. There are plenty of sounds at one's home to ensure one doesn't get H.

Your experience demonstrates what happens when one doesn't protect one's ears outside of one's home.

 

We will just have to disagree on this.

 

I experience something similar after being exposed to certain sounds that are somewhat loud. This too feels very physical and I can only describe it as a "vibrating ear drum". It makes a very deep sound. I'm pretty sure this is not regular tinnitus because I can lightly clench my facial muscles in a certain way to make it stop. Also, any sound will make it stop, as if the sound keeps my ear drum occupied and prevents it from vibrating.

This usually goes away the next day or within a week, if I'm not re-exposed to the loud sounds. It's annoying, but I've been experiencing this on and off for years. I've come to the conclusion that it is harmless.

There was a thread on this earlier, but I can't find it. We discussed this, but never really figured out what it was. Some form of reactive tinntius, maybe? Or TTTS? I wish I knew.

 

What @TheDanishGirl is experiecing @Bill Bauer is the healing process that is necesarry for her to go through in order to recover. As she said, the noise quietens down and I don't think this causes her undue stress as she's able to cope. I went through the exact same thing as many other people do. I'm sure that you've heard of the saying: no pain no gain. I'm not suggesting one should endure pain but some discomfort is quite the norm in this instance.

Michael

 

If what @TheDanishGirl and @Michael Leigh are saying is true (one needs the unfiltered sounds one can hear outside, in order to keep H from getting worse), then staying home for a couple of weeks/months would imply one would be more likely to get H (as protecting while outside is the same as just not going outside). This is clearly not the case - if you stay at home and don't protect your ears at home, you will most likely be fine.

 

With respect @Bill Bauer. We are talking about "noise trauma here" When the ears and auditory system are subjected to noise trauma and a person develops tinnitus with hyperacusis, depending on the severity of the conditions and treatment will determine how successful their recovery will be. Please take into account that no two people experience tinnitus and hyperacusis the same. Many people with tinnitus habiuate to it within the first 6 months to one year of onset. However, depending on how severe the hyperacusis is this often takes longer. Some people with noise trauma habituate to their tinnitus but their hyperacusis hasn't been treated or cured naturally and often this is manifested in the tinnitus spiking - some people call this Reactive tinnitus.

Hyperacusis can be cured naturatly just by normal environmental sounds and using sound enrichment but there is no guarentee. In severe cases a person may need the help of white noise generators. They supply low level white noise to the ears and auditory system and will help to desensitise it over time. Typically, the treatment can take upto 2 years as it did in my case. My Hyperacusis which was very severe was cured in 2 years with TRT and wearing white noise generators for 10hrs a day and using a sound machine at night.

People that haven't suffered noise trauma and got tinnitus and hyperacusis, will not be adversely affected by staying at home and keeping away from everyday enviornmenatal sounds. When a person develops hyperacusis, it is the auditory receptors or gatweay-valves that have opened up in the brain and thus become hypersensitive. The best way to treat this and close down these valves or gateways is by desensitising them using normal everyday sounds or specialist devices like white noise generators under the guidance of a Hearing Therapist/Audilogist with regular counselling.

Michael

 

Mine goes away after max. 1 hour, today it went away after a half hour, and yes it is a deep sound and i can feel it vibrating deep in my ear. Mine does not stop when sound is heard though.

But glad to hear you have not experienced it getting worse in the several years you have had it.

 

Sorry, what part of your post shows that one needs to not protect when one is outside of one's home? You haven't addressed my point at all - staying at home and not protecting, is equivalent to protecting when outside of one's home. When one is not protecting at home, one gets all of the "normal everyday sounds" one needs to get the upper hand on H.

My T and H were caused by noise trauma. During the first month, it hasn't occurred to me to protect my ears from the sounds that haven't bothered me back when I had my health. I began protecting my ears whenever I was outside about 4 weeks after the onset of my T and H. My H began improving and was gone after 2-4 weeks of this. It Wasn't improving for the first month.

To summarize, I am not sure why you are disagreeing with me, as no part of your post shows why the sounds one hears at home are not the "normal everyday" sounds that one needs.

 

We shall agree to disagree Bill because I think you are trying to be clever and in doing so it's very confusing for me to follow you. Put simply this is what I'm saying: There should be no need to use hearing protection at home unless one is using noisy equipment or power tools etc. When outside of the home same thing applies. If one finds sounds uncomforable use "noise reducing earplugs" only for a brief period but they often cause more harm than good.

Michael

 

Looks like I wasn't able to convey my point, after all.

I said that it is a good idea to protect one's ears when outside. This means one would NOT be protecting one's ears when inside. The reason I don't expect this to cause H to worsen is that this is equivalent to just staying at home and not protecting one's ears (any time spent outside with protection is the same as being inside with no protection). If someone doesn't protect his or her ears and stays inside, we wouldn't expect that person to worsen his or her H.

 

By protecting one's hearing outside the hyperacusis has no way of getting better and can actually make things worse. In theory it shouldn't but please remember, although hyperacusis is a physical problem we are also dealing with the emotional impact that is has on a person which can be quite detrimental to their mental health-emotional well being. I have seen this with a number of people in this forum, I am not going to mention names.

Such people have chosen to wear ear-muffs, or earplugs at home and wear them for extended periods outside of the home and this has caused all sorts of problems. It results in the auditory system not been supplied with sound to help desensitise it and as I've already mentioned the emotinal impact that it has on ther mental health: stress, depression etc. If a person isn't careful they can develop phonophobia- a fear of sound.

Michael

 

Would hyperacusis have a way of getting better if one were to spend all of one's time at home (not protecting ears)?

I had already stated multiple times that I am not advocating protecting one's ears while being at one's home. Why are you mentioning the above?

 

@TheDanishGirl ,
Sometimes when people are out side tinnitus goes in to the background with all the daily out door sounds around you where you live.
Coming back in to your home after time outdoors can soon have you thinking your tinnitus has spikes in a more closed space.
Notice what happens over a few days .
Love glynis

 

would definitely wear earplugs in these 'outside' conditions though:

Traffic Noise in India

 

@Bill Bauer
Hyperacusis like tinnitus comes in different levels of severity. If a person were to stay at home not protecting the ears I cannot say for certain whether it would get better or not. The person I used to counsel refused to leave her home for months and the hyperacusis got worse to the point I've already mentioned. If one were to use a sound machine at home or radio, it's possible over time the hyperacusis will improve but I can't say for certain. I do know the best ways to treat hyperacusis is going out of the home and getting used to normal everyday sounds. In severe cases treatment is needed as already mentioned. Tinnitus and hyperacusis are very complex and don't forget the emotional impact they have on person will affect how successful their recovery will be.

If a person thinks there is no hope and is negative thinking all of the time their recovery might not be as good as someone wants to engage with people and go out and trying to get back to their normal lifestyle.

My reference to people using earmuffs and earplugs at home wasn't aimed at you.
Michael

 

I agree, Michael.

At home one can listen to TV/video files on a computer, etc. One has control over the volume under such a setup. One can gradually increase the volume, without the volume getting into the dangerous territory.

 

I agree with your comment too Bill. Being able to contol the volume in the TV and computer setup that you have is good, as you know what you're able to tolerate and feel comfortable with. Twenty one years ago my hyperacusis was so severe, conversation with someone was painful and had to ask the person to please lower their voice. As an Audiophile I was unable to listen to my HI-FI for nearly two years. I had a decibel meter and sitting 10 feet away from the speakers and a 40db sound level which is very low caused a lot of pain. It was so bad I could feel the sound waves (air pressure) caused when the speaker drive units move - I could feel the air being pushed against my ears.

One night I awoke from sleep to a loud high-pitched noise coming out both my ears. It sounded just like the old fashioned kettle that had a whistle as it came to a boil. Very frightening. I got dressed and drove to the hospital at 2am.

Michael

 

Absolutely! I spent today at a zoo with my children. It was a lovely day with friends and the noise volume was always within a safe level.

We got home, I walked into my quiet house and thought my T seemed louder. Then I realized it only seemed louder because I'd just spent nearly five hours intentionally ignoring it versus intentionally listening to it.

 

Are you sure it's gone? You have said on other threads that you avoid showers, are very cautious handling dishes, and wear ear protection whenever you leave your home.

If you no longer have hyperacusis, would exposure to those sounds still cause your tinnitus to react? Have you tested it out at all?

 

In the past, my keyboard sounded too loud. I had to tell everyone I was talking to to keep their voices down. I would feel uncomfortable hearing a microwave oven. None of the above are the case any longer.

I seem to continue getting temporary T spikes after exposure to loud noises. I think of it as reactive T, and not as H.

 

@Michael Leigh - my exact sound every morning!!!! It's horrible, I agree!!!

 

Michael, does the increased sound sensitivity from hyperacusis that you have described mean that the auditory system is actually more susceptible to trauma in this state?

 

Sensitive ears and anxiety can lead to this....

 

Everything sounded too loud to me early on, too. It took a couple months and that faded away. Glad to hear that stopped for you, too.

The ENTs that I have seen say that tinnitus reacting with temporary spikes in response to sounds falls under the umbrella of hyperacusis. Something about collapsed sound tolerance. It's obviously not the same thing as thinking a sound is too loud, so maybe the mechanism causing the reaction is a bit different.

 

A good question @TuneOut unfortunately I don't have the answer to that. As you know increased sound sensitivity caused by hyperacusis is complex and each person will be affected differently that has it. From my own experience, I believe I was more susceptible to noise trauma, so was careful not to be exposed to overly loud sounds and used hearing protection when necessary. In the early days of onset I wore "foam earplugs" when using the vacuum cleaner and even going out for a walk. This was twenty one years ago and didn't have access to the wealth of information that there is today on tinnitus and hyperacusis. Now I would advise using "noise reducing earplugs" and not foam but use them sparingly.

The only way I know of to decrease sensitivity to sound, is by using sound enrichment and not to avoid everyday normal sounds, like some people do and overuse hearing protection.

Michael