Developed Tinnitus After Shooting .45's, 12 Gauge, and .38 Outdoor with No Ear Protection

Hi all, 7 days ago I went out door shooting and shot all types of guns without protection. Please spare me the lectures, I learned my lesson really hard.

I developed hearing loss and ringing in my ears almost right of way. After coming home I really started to get nervous and the googling began.

For the first time in my life I learned about tinnitus and almost all posts about it were very bad. People were saying that they have it for years and years and the struggle was real.

The following day I went to the ER and saw a doctor. I told her I have ringing in my ear and some minor hearing loss. She sent me home without medication and said to see a ENT if the ringing does not go away withing a week. I was not satisfied with this result so I made an appointment with the ENT but the appointment was 2 days later, or 72 hours later. The ringing is about 3/10 maybe 4 hard to say but it's constant. Peaks up before bed and in the morning.

This really scared me so I decided to take action ASAP and research as much as possible. I read the forums and they were very depressive and not as hopeful. I started to get even more worried.

Back to day 2 of the tinnitus after the emergency room visit I went to CVS and purchased the "Ring Stop" ear drops and "Lipo Flavaniod" pills. I started taking this immediately even dough I think it's snake oil. Can't hurt but you have to take these products for at least 1 month or 2 to see any results, according to the product.

As of now I see no improvement except for the ring drops which last for about 10-20 minutes and then back to ringing. I also started taking multivitamins, B12, Ginko, Magnesium, Zinc, and Calcium. So far not much relieaf but I'm tackling this early and fast.

Finally day 4 I see the ENT and he does the hearing tests which show I really have no hearing loss. I ask for predisone(steriod) and he said sure, why not. Gave me a 10 day dose 1-4day=60mg;5-8 day=40mg; 9-10day=20mg. He did mention that he's "very optimistic this will improve or go away completely. Gave me some hope but I think he could be wrong!

As I write this I'm on day 4 of predisone, day 6 of the tinnitus. The tinnitus is really not much better maybe slightly, 3/10 and at times 2/10. I don't see any side affects from the steroids, Thanks GOD. I will stick to the regiment I put my self to and keep you updated as time goes. I've noticed that stress and HBP increases this ringing a bit. I also take melatonin and .5mg Xanax before bed which really helps me sleep and it lowers the ringing. All in all I think this will go away but it might be weeks or months.

I don't see this going on for more then a year but then again the forums are full of people that are suffering with this for more then 10 years. Very scary and depressing.

God Bless all of you and eager to hear your comments.

 

This might sound like hypocritical advice but since you are so early into the tinnitus and you got steroid treatment pretty early on, you should avoid googling or hanging around websites like these. I have experienced firsthand the healing power of not worrying. Relax now, worry later. Or preferably, don't worry at all.

 

Thanks Red. That doctor told me that to. Can't help it, I'm engineer by trade and need to have super good focus.

 

Most likely you will just be fine. Either it will go away or it will subside to such a level it won’t bother you so much and can live a normal live.

Going forward I really need you to understand something very clearly. If you are one of the lucky ones and it disappears for you, don’t think that you are in the clear. I had it once for a week. It went away but due to stupid actions on my part (listening to music too loud on Apple headphones
and going to a loud bar, it came back).

Be aware that your ears are massively damaged now. That means that you need to protect it going forward from additional sound damage (no headphones anymore or loud clubs, bars or concerts). Be aware of flying and driving in a car (wear some good ear protection, peltor X5). Be careful of the dentist (especially sonic teeth cleanings, just don’t). Do not get wax sucked out at the ENT but just have them do it manually instead. And be careful of ototoxic medications as they are know to cause serious damage for people after they get tinnitus.

I would like to say this. 3 months after I got tinnitus I was on vacation and barely noticed it anymore although it was still there. I then got callous and dident give my tinnitus the proper respect and it got so much worse. Please do not make my mistakes. Unfortunately you will have to live like an old person now until they find a treatment of cure, but you can bet your ass it’s worth it to make sure it does not get any worse.

I wish you all the best.

 

What do you mean by the above? Does the ringing completely stop, or is it the case that the volume gets lower?

Check out the studies listed on
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
Some of those studies are about soldiers who got tinnitus as a result of an acoustic trauma as a result of being exposed to the sound of guns being fired. Most had (eventually) recovered.

Don't lose hope. It might take months, but there is a good chance that you will eventually get better.

Another good sign. Mine was louder than that during that first month, and it got better (only to get worse after I got my second acoustic trauma - try to make sure that that doesn't happen to you).

I suggest that during these months while your body is trying to heal, you avoid moderate noises like that of a vacuum cleaner, blender, hair dryer.

Good for you!

You might consider taking ALCAR and NAC (search this forum for more information).

It will most likely not going to be weeks. It might take longer than a year for it to completely go away. But you ought to see some improvement after a month, and more improvement 3-4 months in. The sound that you are hearing now is most likely not the sound you will be stuck with - tinnitus will likely keep changing and becoming easier to ignore.

Consider sound enrichment (when you are trying to sleep) to give you something else besides your T to listen to. It might allow you to stop taking Xanax.
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA/
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-S-5000-Deluxe-Therapy/dp/B018KUVEOM

 

@1stfront
The advice @Red has given you is correct. Stop Googling tinnitus as it will give you nothing but stress and reinforce negative thinking and could delay your healing progress. If you must find out more knowledge about tinnitus then do it right. Get it from people that live with the condition and there are plenty good advisors in this forum. Please beware there are also negative thinking people here too. Please go to my started threads and read my post: new to tinnitus what to do? Then read my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View. As I've said there's some good people here that can help you so look around.

Good luck
Michael

 

Yea, no more loud venues or earphones again. I am avoiding concerts, festivals, cinema, earbuds, loud bars, loud resturants forever now.

I consider T and H to be a disability. We are disabled now and face extreme restrictions in life. How someone can live a happy/productive live with this is something that I cant fathom.

 

I can assure you that homeopathic meds and some herbs will help, either way it will keep you calm as you will have something to rely on and keep the hops up.

I tried Ring Stop but had better success with Newton Homeopathics Ear Ringing.

If the meds help you you are lucky and the damage allows to be healed by them, but it can be so severe that the effect of these meds wont do much. Either way, try everything you can, as long it's natural they won't hurt you.

 

@dpdx you can still live a very beautiful life with tinnitus. I don’t know how old you are. If you are young you probably feel like your entire life is messed up because you can’t do the things you love the most in live anymore.

However, if you are a little older you might have already experienced that there is so much more outside of the stuff that you like when you are young. Having a family, reading a book on a porch with the sun on your face. Having a quiet walk in a forest. Going camping. Hiking through the mountains. Having a quiet movie night with your wife. Later in life these become the things that you like best and they are in no means things we can’t do anymore.

It is truly possible to live a great life, but there are sacrifices that you have to make in order for it to stay at a certain level. Trust me, they are well worth it.

 

Thanks will try.

 

Thanks I'm not happy about the steriods but will try it.

 

I'm 38 and on the go non stop. I'm trying to keep my ears protected now even during driving.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

Thank you for the advice. Feeling much better.

Will try but that Xanax boy is just gold.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. I'm protecting my ears now everywhere I go. Driving and work.

 

Unless you are driving a heavy vehicle, such as a truck or a bus. Or ride a motorcycle, this is overkill. I suppose it would also be helpful if you live in the city but otherwise…

 

Xanax and other "benzos" are known to actually temporarily reduce tinnitus volume for some people...

 

Day 11 update:
On my 8th day of prednisone and it sucks. I have major mood swings and I've gained a few pounds. If I'm in the gym I feel very angry. This stuff is not fun and I'm waiting to get off it soon. My ringing in the ear is slightly better today hence the need to write this post. Like mentioned above, I've been taking all the stuff regularly and not sure really what is helping and what is not. My ringing is down from 3/10 to 2/10 and I'm noticing it less today even while it's a stress filled day. I have been protecting my ears where ever I go even driving so maybe that is doing it as well. I take allot of Magnesium and garlic to keep my BP down plus melatonin and xanax before sleep. The roids are just killing my sleep. Will keep you all updated and God Bless.

 

How is your current progress with the T.?