Checking in from the Netherlands: Got Tinnitus from Using a Hammer Drill

Hi everyone,

I just found out about this place. Sure glad I did.

To introduce myself: I'm a recently divorced, 35-year old father of 3 beautiful girls from the Netherlands. The divorce was an amicable one, but a divorce nonetheless. And so amidst all the stress of moving and figuring out a new life, I made a seemingly inconsequential mistake that led me to this place and point.

The walls of my new apartment are tough, and so drilling some holes into them was tricky. I nevertheless attacked them with fervor with a drill, until after a short while I noticed my right ear hurting a bit - exactly the way like when you've been too close to a big fat speaker in a club.

So I immediately stopped drilling, kicked myself for forgetting to put some earplugs in (to be fair, no one I know ever uses earplugs for any thing powertool related, but that doesn't make it not stupid). The room was small, about 8 m2, but I'd already carpeted it - the acoustics were reduced, but it was still an empty concrete room I suppose). In any case, the ear wasn't right - interestingly enough my left ear was and is fine (even though I did drill holding the drill on both sides of my head at some point - I guess a little more on the right).

The next day I noticed I still had the "post speaker" syndrome - my ear felt, well, "full" and the ringing persisted. It was (and still is) kind of a strange ringing. There's a base level buzzing, with the addition of a higher pitched tone.

Anyway, stressed as I was and with a history of anxiety, I was quickly getting really worred. I've never had a ringing in my ear the next day. I'm not much of a concert frequenter (though I've been in a lot of pretty loud modern church services) and I rarely go out to clubs or anything. Of course I went to check online and, oh sh*t, what if it is permanent tinnitus from acoustic trauma?

This was the proverbial drop for me and I lost my sh*t completely that day, breaking down in tears. I've thought many times since then that life was simply not worth living anymore, if it was going to be with a permanent ringing in my ears.

My ex, always more level-headed (and fortunately we are on very good terms) suggested I go see the doctor, so I did the next day. The doc's conclusion was that my earcanal was irritated and red and so she prescribed me eardrops and told me to wait it out two weeks, insisting that this stuff happens and it'll get better soon.

Fast forward a week later, I've gone through the drops thing and nothing has changed. Went in again, doc says the outer ear has healed - but my symptoms persist. She referred to me to an ear/nose/throat specialist, because from her end nothing could be seen. One of my friends swears my right ear is more red than my left ear, and it sure does still feel sensitive. There hasn't been any real pain (some pressure more I suppose).

And so that's where I'm at. I'm at two weeks since the incident tomorrow. From what I can gather from this website, that's early when it comes to expecting tinnitus to improve. This forum has given me at least some perspective: I'm reading a lot of stories where improvement happens, so I'm holding on to that.

One of my friends is a doctor and was an ear/nose/throat guy in the army. He told me they had a lot of farm guys who experienced ringing in one ear from looking over the side of the tractor all the time, the powerful engine blasting their ears continuously. He also said that, while untreatable, tinnitus symptoms do usually get better, because our brains start tuning out the noise. But that in a stressed state, as I am in now, it's much harder for the brain to do so.

One of my other friends is a contractor, who works with a lot of power tools (too often, he said, without protection). He tells me he's had a ringing in his ear several times in his life - usually it subsided over the course of a few weeks, and one time months. Told me not to worry about it.

Some observations about my tinnitus so far:

1. As I mentioned, the sound I hear is a baseline buzz/hiss with a higher pitched tone on top. If I had to describe the tone further, it remains me of those shiny metal tweeters they use in speakers. I'd call the sound "aluminium" sounding, even though that makes no real sense.
   
   
2. The high tone changes through the day. Sometimes it's a continual eeee, but more often it's more like a "tweet-tweet-tweet" kind of noise. Very inconsistent and irregular. I haven't been able to catch a pattern to it, like it responding to movement or set fluctuations during the day. However, it does *usually* sound like a continual tone in the morning (and I perceive it as louder), whereas it's more "tweet-y" in the evening.
   
   
3. The high tone does subside from time to time. Interestingly, it's *usually* louder when my head is on a pillow. When I lift my head, the tweeting *usually* almost completely subsides. But then I've also had one instances where it was the complete opposite and lying down made it subside! I've also woken up in the middle of the night not being able to go back to sleep because of the noise (I went out of bed, played a game and went back after an hour - with the sound somehow being way reduced). But I've also woken up to almost no sound at all, except the hiss.
   
   
4. Some stances make it go away some of the time. When I bend over, when I turn my head to the right. It doesn't always work, sometimes it does.
   
   
5. Clenching my jaw makes the tweeting change into a continuous tone.
   
   
6. I feel like alcohol makes it a bit edgier and persistent, the next day. When I have a beer or two I completely forget it's there, as if the alcohol dulls the senses a bit. Along the same lines my coffee in take is limited to one or two a day, so... no idea if that matters at all.
   
   
7. As I mentioned, no pain, but my right ear is sensitive and feels a little full.
   
   
8. I don't hear it when I'm with friends or in conversations. I don't seem to have any hearing loss, or at least nothing significant. I can watch TV or be outside and almost not hear it, or at least I forget it's there (until the inevitable "omg is it gone? Crap it's not" moment). I've read some people can even hear it in the shower, that's fortunately not the case for me.
   
   
9. I do hear it when I'm alone in my apartment. I can also often hear it over music, though faintly, and playing music before sleep doesn't really work for me - I find the music more annoying than the noise.

I'm seeing the specialist this week and also have a hearing test lined up. I don't expect them to find anything, but obviously hoping they do. I still can't figure out why my ear canal was irritated if this was acoustic trauma. Maybe the whole thing is an inflammation, considering my immune system must be sh*t from all the stress.

Meanwhile I'm prepping golden milk tumeric drink to see if that does anything at all. I've also got a history with intermittent fasting, so I think I'll back to that, too.

I'm otherwise completely healthy, work out a lot and, fortunately, am able to sleep well. As for the depression, I still have times where I am extremely angry at myself for messing up my ear in such an important time. My therapist tells me to chill the F out at myself, and he's convinced this won't be permanent (but that it's mostly stress induced). I'm now usually OK, though I am frequently annoyed by the sound and absolutely want it to go away.

So that's me. If you have any tips or suggestions, I'd be very grateful - especially if anyone is also here in the Netherlands and has figured out places to get treatment (even if it's CBT).

 

Ey @Falchion, Welkom That's some story you got there. It seems you already did some digging in keeping your ears save from acoustic trauma or other things that might worsen your tinnitus. Turmeric is good. Some use NAC, vitamin B complex or other stuff like Magnesium. There's a lot that can protect you against additional damage to your hearing. And it is indeed important to be careful in places with lots of noise. As you can see in my profile, I already had a worsening of my tinnitus because I went to busy places that might have contributed to that, like going to football matches/concerts with normal ear plugs on & headphones on low to moderate volume (still not save though!). So having quality ear plugs with you at all times (musician plugs or custom-fit plugs are e-ok) and avoiding headphones/earbuds are also very important in keeping your ears save.

 

Oh oh Den Haag! So, you're saying normal earplugs aren't enough for loud places? Any recommendations? And do you think I'm too late with the earphone thing?

 

Love Utrecht as well I study there at the Drift location (BA French language & literature).

Well, about the earphones: as long as you do not use an earphone, you at least avoid the risk of making it worse by yet another acoustic trauma.

No, normal earplugs would not be enough, given my experience. Custom molded earplugs are a lot safer (are more air tight than normal ones). You can easily make an appointment at Beter Horen or Hans Anders for customising your ear plugs. They seem a safe bet for moderate loud events (like a party at a friend's place) or DIY stuff at home.

However, some people on the forum share the opinion that even good ear plugs would not be safe enough in very noisy environments (concerts, festivals, sport matches), so it's best to avoid it all together. That seems like a safe bet but it's up to you if you want to go to noisy places or not.

A lot of people also attribute their stable tinnitus by using meds with anti-inflammatory properties, like multivitamins, NAC, L-arginine, and yours favourite: turmeric. I take these as well and so far it has helped against spikes (a temporary increase in tinnitus, which often happened before). Luckily for you, you can easily find this stuff at. the local Vitaminstore in Utrecht.

 

What about the movie theater? Man I'd hate to not be able to go see movies anymore.

Where's the science or what's the reasoning behind "your ears are now more vulnerable"?

 

I think that regular movie theatres are generally safe. It's mostly the story about how hard they play the sound system. At IMAX movie theatres, it can be sometimes louder than at regular ones (often 10 dB louder and peaks around 100 dB, while 85 dB is often considered the upper limit of what is considered safe). I prefer to go to arthouse movie theatres. At those places, it is sometimes quite low (I measured it around 65 dB average to max 85 dB).

About your second question: I do not have a lot of knowledge to answer this question, but I think it has to do that your hearing already has quite some beating (in comparison to people who do not often go out or are less dependent on (ototoxic) drugs), which makes you more susceptible for additional damage (via acoustic trauma, ototoxicity, stress, etc.). Maybe someone can fill me in on this???

 

Got a hearing test today, no discernible damage. My left ear is slightly better than my right, but they told me that didn't mean anything as all ears are slightly different. They did also say that it's possible that I just lost a couple of hairs, but that it hasn't led to hearing damage - yet, anyway (as you get older, you lose more hairs).

So, should I conclude my tinnitus did not stem from hearing damage, but from stress?

 

You can still have noise induced tinnitus with normal audiograms.

I believe that for some people, tinnitus is a result of several things happening at once (eg stress or illness and a noise trauma, other damage and a noise trauma etc).

 

That's good news. Did you do an extended audiogram (uitgebreide audiogram)? Normally, ENTs do not check the higher frequency (above 8000 Hz). The higher frequency is more susceptible to damage. I also thought I had a good audiogram until I went for the extended one.

Stress can also not be ruled out. Some people have it due to stressful moments, and some of them are active on this forum. But it can also played a secondary role in making your hearing more susceptible to damage due to loud sounds.

 

It was not an extended one. Where did you get that one done?

 

Easy, you can get one done at the local Pento Audio centrum. There are many Pento offices throughout The Netherlands, even one in De Meern.

 

I'll suggest it to the doctor today.

Was cleaning up some of the laminate floor parts this morning that I still had lying around. Snapped one with my foot, sound was a little louder than I expected. I feel like my tinnitus is responding slightly. God, I'm SO scared of making it worse.

 

Ey @Falchion. It may be that you have reactive tinnitus or a temporary spike. There's always a big chance that it may reduce in volume over time. You can also look at Bill Bauer's posts. He knows a lot of keeping your ears safe from mundane things like wearing ear plugs while using a vacuum cleaner.

 

Alright, time for an update.

Saw the ENT last week. Very emphatic and helpful guy, seemed pretty on his game. I shoved my full list of treatments in his face and he went down the list without cynicism, clearly showing he wanted a solution as much as I did. The visit itself was comforting for sure - and the T immediately seemed less.

As for what he said, he prescribed me dexamethason and betahistine, a cocktail he said he had had success with before. Also wanted to see me again in two weeks.

He was very much against HBOT treatment, citing it was aimed at acute trauma and deafness not T. Indeed, he had a personal example of a patient insisting on it and ending up needing treatment for damage due to the pressure - with no help with the T.

I was comforted and honestly the T had gotten pretty bearable already. I have that base hiss with a tone inside, not unlike a higher version of the "a grenade just went off" sound used in movies. I barely hear that one. But there is a "tweeter" over that one that is far more piercing and annoying. But at the start of this week, there were two days it was nearly gone. Improvement!

But alas, for no apparent reason things have gotten worse over the last few days. That tweeter has gone up and is pretty aggressive. I don't think there was a trigger, I'm careful with loud sounds (though I've had a dog bark and a kid burst into screams close by - doc told me that's fine, won't make it worse but could slow the healing process).

So yeah, 7 days into my cocktail, no improvement. Almost 4 weeks in total.

‍♂️

 

I'm four months in and mine still fluctuates between awful days and okay days. From what I read here on the forum, it's very normal for someone's T to fluctuate a lot in the beginning, with the beginning sometimes being defined as within the first year.

Seems like you've found yourself a good ENT. No, he can't cure it, but unlike many doctors it seems as if he has compassion and is willing to offer as much help as he can for your T. Hopefully with time yours begins to fade.

 

Had a much better today and it only got worse as I got tired.

I'm still exasperated how something so nasty can happen so quickly.

 

Hope it gets better for you. Yeah, it's pretty surprising how a simple error can lead to so much frustration. Did you ever get the extended audiogram?

 

Try not to panic, as there is a reasonable chance that eventually you will get to the "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage. Having said this, the next 3-6 months will likely be challenging. It ought to get better.

You will want to make sure that you don't hurt your ears during this period of vulnerability as your body is healing. You will want to avoid taking ototoxic drugs, avoid microsuction or syringing (performed when you need to clean wax out of your ears; a manual tool should be used), and not let your dental hygienist use an ultrasonic scaling tool on you (a manual tool should be used). For more details, see

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Despite the earlier suggestion I don't seem to be able to find such a thing here locally in the Netherlands. Not even the site @Christiaan suggested. That and both my ENT and another audiologist told me it wouldn't make a difference, since any further frequencies are outside the limits of our hearing. Not sure what to think about that.

@Bill Bauer thanks. I've never had anything done that comes even close to what you're describing, suction and whatnot. As for the dentist, when would be use such a tool? Haven't ever had a cavity, but I do have to have tartar removed every 6 months. Also got braces but that all seems fairly innocent.

Yeah my tinnitus is all over the place. I tend to wake up at night to pee or something and it'll be almost silent. Have woken up a few times to almost complete silence, only to have it vary heavily during the day.

Interestingly it does to get factually worse when I pay attention to it. As in, I start listening for it, the sound gets more intense, actually changes sometimes.

So weird. Oh well

Another doctor friend of mine used to be ENT in the army and he also said it would take time, that the lack of hearing loss was a good sign.

‍♂️

 

They aren't outside the limits of our hearing. They're very much a part of it, and damage there can be the cause. Here's a study from 2015 showing this. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/302515/

Most ENTs and Audiologists don't keep up with research though, and are taught this false narrative that they're not important. It's one of the reasons tinnitus stumps them so much. Still, it's up to you. Whatever you feel comfortable with is what you should do. I wish you the best.

 

I have tried an app that plays pure tone up to 20 kHz with my computer speakers. I can definitely hear some type of pure tone noise at certain frequencies above 8 kHz. It baffles me when ENT docs and audiologists keep saying its pointless measuring anything higher than 8 kHz as if they're just making shit up because their equipment only go up to 8 kHz.

I'm at the Los Angeles area and I have also been having a hard time finding an audiologist with equipment measuring higher than 8 kHz. I'm planning to call up the university centers and see if they have better equipment when the COVID-19 things die down.

 

But what would be the point? To prove that you do, indeed, have hearing damage?

 

Pretty much. It would give your tinnitus a possible reason. The idea that anything above 8 kHz doesn't matter is ridiculous. It's still noise we're able to hear, and still ranges damage can occur at.

 

The standard hearing test for tinnitus sufferers is insufficient. All the ENT docs keep saying that my hearing is normal and that there's nothing wrong. LIKE HELL THERE'S NOTHING WRONG. The fact that I have tinnitus means there's something wrong. It's basically gathering proof for myself that the ENT docs can be wrong and if they are wrong, then the current medical standards for hearing test has serious issues.

Moreover, just because human speech falls below 8khz doesn't mean higher frequencies do not factor into our ear health. It's absolute lunacy to say that your ears are normal regardless of damages to higher and ultra high frequencies. It's like saying feeling sharp pain is normal and healthy while only dull pain is considered unhealthy and problematic.

 

Well, my tinnitus started after using a hammer drill without protection. It's fairly safe to conclude some damage WAS done, it just don't show up on the spectrum. I didn't get it from stress, is what I'm trying to say, although it's extremely likely my situation is making it way worse (heck, I hope that's the case).

@Christiaan I'm a dumbass apparently, I emailed the gang in De Meern and they responded quickly that they can do an extended test, but that they have a long waiting list. I'll probably still get it.

My tinnitus seems more over the place than ever. It's been really quiet waking up, more consistently, and then gets more fierce as I go about and do stuff. Comes and goes during the day.

 

@Christiaan Pento clinic just informed me they have a 6-9 month waiting list.

 

Dental hygienists use those tools to clean one's teeth.

That's the procedure I was talking about. It sounds like your hygienist has been using a manual tool.

That's a really good sign.

 

Hi! I would advise you to get a Prednisone treatment. Contact Dr. Eize Wielinga of Kliniek Oud Zuid, Amsterdam, www.kliniekoudzuid.nl. He sees the benefits of Prednisone. When you have more money you can also have an intravenous treatment (Prednisone + Pentoxifylline) in Germany. See: www.oorzuisen.net Edwin Bisschop.

Kind regards,
Jan

 

Thanks, I will do that. My current ENT, from Van Linschoten, prescribed me dexamethasone tablets, which he says are related to Prednison. He was very much against intravenous treatment.

 

Dexamethasone from what I hear is better than Prednisone.