Car Alarm

I was exposed to a car alarm for about 15 to 20 seconds. Maybe longer. I panicked and instead of plugging my ear like I would normally do, I froze. It was one of those alarms that sounds like a horn honking again and again.

I was inside the car and I opened the door to leave and opening the door triggered the alarm. I probably should have exited quickly and got away as fast as possible, which would have exposed me briefly and then I would have put distance between me and the sound. Instead I closed the door. The sound was louder outside than inside of the car, but it was still crazy loud. Instead of plugging my ear, I panicked and my thoughts raced in circles: "How do I shut it off-should I exit the car-I should plug my ear-but I need to turn it off-how do I turn it off-people are staring-I don't know what to do!" This is what my good-for-nothing brain was doing instead of telling my hand to plug my ear. When dh came to the car I told him what happened and he said it was my fault for panicking and why did I "just sit there?"

It seems louder now. I have had it happen in the past that my ear seemed louder after a noise exposure, but after a few hours I was okay. However, there are some differences this time and I'm worried that it won't blow over. I was exposed to the car alarm for much longer than I have ever been exposed to anything before. It just kept honking.

 

This just happened to me. Only it was when I was fumbling through my pockets looking for my keys to unlock my car. When the alarm went off (with me standing right next to the car) I somehow thought it was someone else's car in the parking lot. I just sort of froze and couldn't think clearly because of the sudden noise. Stood there looking like an idiot for probably a good 10 seconds before I managed to get my keys and turn the alarm off.

@SugarMagnolia Did you ever get a spike from the car alarm?

I tested my car alarm with decibel meters at home. It was between 110 and 118 dB depending on which decibel meter I was using right outside the car, and only like 85-89 dB inside the car.

I'm really hoping this doesn't make things worse.

 

@Alue
I was okay after the car alarm. But for a few days, I wasn't sure. Noise exposures like this instantly unhabituate me and then I'm not sure whether or not the sound is louder than it used to be. All of a sudden I'm noticing it more and saying, was it always this loud? Also I get TTTS symptoms, but those decreased as time passed. Hopefully you'll be okay too.

 

Glad you got better. The freezing up part was the weirdest and most frustrating part of it. That's really uncharacteristic of me, but the loud noise just rattled my brain and I couldn't think straight. I was with a business customer that parked right next to me and looked like an idiot. I did have some small loosely inserted earplugs in at the time (so I could hear the person talking to me while still having some protection from low flying aircraft as we were near the flight line). But the earplugs are smaller than my usual kind and don't fit as well or provide nearly as much noise reduction as my regular plugs.

Tinnitus seemed louder last night and today, but like you said, it's sometimes hard to differentiate it being louder or just paying attention to it more. I developed a permanent new tone a little over a year ago from loud noise exposure, so I'm extra paranoid now.

I looked up the manufacturer of my particular car alarm, and it is indeed listed as a 115db horn. That seems excessive to me. The car doesn't even honk when I lock it and it's not my normal commuting vehicle, that's why I was thinking it was someone else's car.

 

Tinnitus was okay over the weekend. It seems louder now. I actually had an appointment with my ENT for different issues (ear infections / Eustachian tubes) scheduled for tomorrow, but I cancelled it because of work. I don't know if it would have made any difference unless I asked for intratympanic steroids (which sounds a little excessive for this). He did mention it as a possibility if I ever wanted to try.

Spikes come and go, I just really hope I don't develop a new tone from this like I did a year ago.

 

So it's been a week and I just noticed a new and different faint tone in my right ear tonight. I had a couple loud bothersome noises again today (low flying aircraft as it was taking off, and someone sneezing when I had them on speaker phone close to my ear), but I'm guessing it's more from the car alarm last week. I hope things are better in the morning.

For some reason my right ear is much more reactive to noises.

Sigh.

 

Did your car alarm spike subside??

 

Dear all,

I have hyperacusis and a car alarm went off for 2 seconds before I fingered my ears just in front of my house when I was inside without earplugs. I didn't feel pain.

There were 2 protections between me and the alarm: the windows of the house (not double glass, just single glass), which were closed, and the door of my room, closed too. There was another door in between but not fully closed.

Even so, the alarm seemed pretty loud for me, and I think I'm more sensitive to noise and have more intrusive tinnitus.

Should I take Prednisone? Or is this just anxiety?