Can the Sound Energy of Heavy Metal Lid Slamming Cause More Damage Than Knife Dropping on Plate?

Hi there!

So I have noise-induced tinnitus. Just came home from the park where I played boule with my son. At a certain point a heavy metal lid on a box where they keep the balls slammed close to my ear (1 meter). I could immediately hear my high-pitched tinnitus sound go up for a fraction of a second. Since there were other sounds in the park it was hard to know if the higher pitch stayed.

Now I'm back home and I feel that the tinnitus in the left ear is higher. The sound level of the slamming lid was between 90 and 95 decibels. I have had some other accidents like this which never gave me a permanent higher tone, but this time I actually noticed the high-pitched tinnitus go up when I heard the slam.

I don't have access to Prednisone. I just want to know if you think there's a risk I got an acoustic trauma and that this louder level will remain permanently? Or maybe it is just a "fear-spike"?

I've had other noise accidents like this with louder sounds, like dropping cutlery in the kitchen which can peak at over 100 decibels. I wonder if the sound energy of the heavy metal lid slamming can do more damage than knife dropping on a plate etc?

EDIT:

Now I'm back home and I feel that the tinnitus in the left ear is louder. The sound level of the slamming lid was between 90 and 95 decibels.

It may have been louder, up to 98 decibel maybe.

 

Well, I dropped my earmuffs on a wooden floor this morning. It made a bang. My high alert brain and anxiety immediately caused unrest/fear. I checked the dB and it was 98 dB.

One short moment, 2 seconds of high sound exposure, rationally can't damage your ears unless you have weak ears. But the fear can spike your tinnitus.

So I believe your tinnitus has settled down again?

 

Hi Johan. Thanks for your reply. I had two bad nights without sleep but tonight I managed to sleep just on Melatonin. So yes, it settled down - or it was just a fear induced speak.

Today I dropped the ketchup bottle in tie fridge, 94 decibels. It's insane, I have to try to explain to myself that the chances of a spike are very small, if not for anxiety reasons. But how do I know I don't have weak ears?

 

Well acoustic trauma is cumulative, so if you have accumulated a lot of it, there is potential. However, 2 seconds is a really short amount of time, even for 98 dB. Maybe if it was 120 dB it would be a serious problem.

If we go by the more conservative NIOSH standards, they allow 23 minutes and 49 seconds in a 98 dBa environment. So by their standards, you'd have to experience a 2 second, 98 dBa sounds over 714 times before it would be considered dangerous.

I know there is a million other factors at play, but this is to illustrate you are generally safe from these sounds and should try to stay at ease should they happen. You should definitely try as much prevention as possible, but you can never be 100% prepared for everything.

I would be more concerned about prolonged exposure to even lower decibel levels than from one of crashes of things.

And after stating all of this, I still fall victim to the same anxiety. Just happened to me last night as a matter of fact.

 

It's amazing the insane paranoia and walking on egg shells this condition invokes! Hope it settles down quick.

 

Yes, it's insane indeed. It's difficult to distinguish between protecting, getting a real spike or just a spike based on pure fear. I hope to learn to cope better soon.

 

From my experience with a similar issue, a prolonged spike may take place (mine are unusually quite long and last 3-4 months). Given the fact that you were outdoors, you are much less likely to have a permanent spike.

 

The dBA scale at these levels may be inaccurate, especially if the sound is in the lower frequency register, in which case the difference between dBA and dBC or dBZ values could be as significant as 10-15 dB (this is based on my own experience - I use a properly calibrated SPL Class 2 meter for measurements). I, unfortunately, get prolonged spikes, even from brief and unwanted exposure to sounds that exceed 90 dBZ. Dropping a bottle of shampoo in a bathtub, etc. has resulted in the past in spikes that lasted more than 10 weeks.