Member- Nov 1, 2022
- 193
- Tinnitus Since
- 09/2022
- Cause of Tinnitus
- being a caregiver for an elderly lady who is hard of hearing
I had a very bad setback on April 6, caused by a loud but brief noise exposure. Since then, there has been a major resurgence of noxacusis, and I've noticed that my tinnitus is much louder than its usual baseline. I'm really afraid it will stay that way.
In the past, I was able to have conversations with people while wearing my Peltor earmuffs, but that is no longer the case. If someone speaks to me, I now have to take off my earmuffs to understand them. Do you think this is because my tinnitus has become so loud that it drowns out real-world sounds more than before, or because I have suffered new hearing loss?
Over the past two and a half years, I've had three hearing tests. None of them showed any hearing loss, even though my hearing has often felt muffled and distorted. I've been thinking about getting another test, but I suspect it will come back normal again. Should I even bother? The sound that caused my setback on April 6 was a sharp snapping sound that lasted only a fraction of a second. Although the setback was very painful, it probably didn't cause additional hearing loss. I believe the pain was caused less by the decibel level and more by how uncomfortably close the sound source was to my ear. I sometimes feel pain from unexpected sounds that occur very close to me, even if they aren't dangerously loud or prolonged.
My healthcare system only provides hearing tests up to 8 kHz, unless the patient has cancer. For cancer patients, testing goes up to 16 kHz, apparently because some chemotherapy drugs can cause hearing loss, starting at the highest frequencies and working down toward 8 kHz and below. I suspect I already have some hearing loss above 8 kHz, but nobody has offered to test me for that, and they probably wouldn't agree to it even if I asked.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, where they can no longer hear as well as they used to while wearing earmuffs or earplugs? What did you do about it? The tinnitus is so loud that I can't even think straight right now.
In the past, I was able to have conversations with people while wearing my Peltor earmuffs, but that is no longer the case. If someone speaks to me, I now have to take off my earmuffs to understand them. Do you think this is because my tinnitus has become so loud that it drowns out real-world sounds more than before, or because I have suffered new hearing loss?
Over the past two and a half years, I've had three hearing tests. None of them showed any hearing loss, even though my hearing has often felt muffled and distorted. I've been thinking about getting another test, but I suspect it will come back normal again. Should I even bother? The sound that caused my setback on April 6 was a sharp snapping sound that lasted only a fraction of a second. Although the setback was very painful, it probably didn't cause additional hearing loss. I believe the pain was caused less by the decibel level and more by how uncomfortably close the sound source was to my ear. I sometimes feel pain from unexpected sounds that occur very close to me, even if they aren't dangerously loud or prolonged.
My healthcare system only provides hearing tests up to 8 kHz, unless the patient has cancer. For cancer patients, testing goes up to 16 kHz, apparently because some chemotherapy drugs can cause hearing loss, starting at the highest frequencies and working down toward 8 kHz and below. I suspect I already have some hearing loss above 8 kHz, but nobody has offered to test me for that, and they probably wouldn't agree to it even if I asked.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, where they can no longer hear as well as they used to while wearing earmuffs or earplugs? What did you do about it? The tinnitus is so loud that I can't even think straight right now.
