Can Yelling/Shouting Make Your Tinnitus Worse

Hey all,

Two days ago I really yelled loud at someone - as loud as I can really - while driving, it just a few words though so I did not yell for long. The person was with me in the car will yelling in a confined space magnify the sound levels? Ever since certain tones of my tinnitus - that have calmed down with time - now have spiked through the roof and have became reactive. I guess on paper this should not cause ear damage but maybe the shock of the sudden loud noise? I just started a new job and now I have to deal with this spike not the best timing I must say .

 

Possibly. I wondered this after I yelled, so I put on some ear muffs and yelled directly into a calibrated decibel meter. I don't remember the exact value, but it clocked in at over 100 decibels! Confined spaces do make things worse.

 

Hi!

From what I have understood, the body are protecting itself when you are yelling since you jaw moves up when you open your mouth, and the jaw will kind of "plug" your ear somewhat and that is why usually you cannot damage your ears yourself. But since your brain was prepared for the noise and the body's own protection I don't think you should be worried. But then again, you shouldn't yell that loud at other people. Especially when you know how much damage loud noises can do for others. I hate when people make sudden noises that is not necessarily. Unless someone's life is on the line, please don't yell. I would feel the worst person on earth if I accidentally gave someone else T.

 

Spike every time I yell or sing loudly.

 

I hope you are right about the body protecting itself unfortunately the spike is still quite bad but thankfully its only certain tones that spiked - the low frequency ones are around 1k- the other tones are still the same. As for the other person I had to yell as she would not stop arguing with me and I nearly made a accident.

 

This info should be available online, also I spoke to our audio director at work (who also have T) that told me the same thing. I understand your reason, didnt mean to criticize, I was sure you had a good reason for yelling, but yes, sometimes people can forget how much a yell can damage, so just wanted to put it out there.
I am sure the spike will go down, and maybe it is just you being anxious too right now that makes it feel worse. I know very well how it is!

 

I remember when I asked my doctor about this and he simply said "people's voices cannot damage your hearing no matter how loud they are"... this doc is most likely wrong. I guess they would never take our T seriously.

 

You should have yelled as high as you could right into his ears and ask him how he feels. Doctors are usually ignorant in this matter.

 

People's voices can make your hearing worse, but not your own voice. It's not about 'hoping to be right', it's science. Otherwise we would all be deaf too easily. Let alone singers or mothers of young children You can find info on the net about it . Spike can come and go. Could have been caused by so many other things than the fact that you yelled a few words...Maybe the conflict with her, to begin with ? It's not good to let the emotions reach such level. That may mean sth is bothering you..Anyway, take a lot of magnesium and try not to worry too much New job ? Maybe some stress that goes with it and therefore the spike too ?
@Alue , you, on the other hand, did sth totally stupid. As long as yelling with ears unblocked will not harm the hearing, doing so with covered ears may very well do so. It's not your yelling on the outside that is dangerous - it's the one inside your skull that will not have a way of escaping and will reach the middle ear through the bone conduction - you cover your ears - you don't yell. I don't even talk when I have earplugs in. Just in case.

 

I have gotten stressed and yelled before - but not as loud as I did this time - I never got a spike to this level so I don't know. A week now and it is still horribly spiked so I had an ENT prescribe me a 2 week prednisone course yesterday.

Honestly I am not sure how I will ever habituate to this condition, I now have 6 different tones that I can distinguish which I have gotten over the three year period of having T and every time I am back to square one.

 

You were most likely stressed when you yelled and stress makes it louder

 

Yes yelling in a confined space is not good and (in my opinion) can do damage to a already fragile auditory system. Take care, lots of sleep and hope they recover as I think they still can. I've done the same thing, don't feel bad about it, I'm sure you won't (like me) be doing that again

 

I thought you no longer heard yours? So how can it spike?

 

Just an update.

Sadly my conditions has not improved. This is not a spike more like a new onset .

 

@Eric N,
I was wondering if you have tried White noise generators or maybe a hearing aids.
My tinnitus is really loud and used white noise generators for years and did find they helped.
I now wear dual purpose hearing aids and do help .
Most people over time do learn to adapt to their tinnitus sound and cope better when feeling well but after a rough day or feeling ill soon reduced our coping ability .
The unwanted emotions that come with tinnitus can make life challenging as well as the sound but dealing with the feelings can help us cope better.
I hope your ears settle soon for you ......lots of love glynis

 

Thanks

Unfortunately hearing aids are unlikely to help I don't have hearing loss and the spike is a mid frequency so white noise wont help.

The main issue is how reactive and unstable it is to sounds, this will make it near impossible to habituate .

 

I still respond to it a couple times a week. When I get a spike I might respond daily.

 

@Eric N
An update on your T level, please?
I am curious.

 

Hello Dana,

Sadly I never recovered. Thanks for asking.

 

Same thing happened to me.

 

Do musicians ear plugs not cause an occulusion effect when singing etc??

All the rock stars use the in ear monitors for noise reduction along with being able too hear the band and back stage instruction but when the scream does this not cause a problem??

 

Has your T ended already?

 

I remember screaming in horror during the first few nights of experiencing T. It must have made things even worse for me.

 

Bill when did your T start?

 

I once raised my voice during an argument and a got a new loud tone in my head...
I guess stress or the noise was the cause.
Do you have also hyperacusis?

 

No I don't have hyperacusis, and sadly the spike from the shout never settled and yet again I am going through a new spike after an MRI a week and half ago despite wearing double hearing protection.

 

It began in early February (11 days after my acoustic trauma).

 

What happend bill?

 

What did you do to get acoustic trauma?

 

A sonic toothbrush came into contact with the opening of my ear canal (don't ask about the details). It lasted a fraction of a second. That happened on January 22...

A fraction of a second can certainly change your life.