Dirt Bikes Caused Fullness in Ear

Whilst walking my dog, these stupidly loud dirt bikes (never heard them this loud before!) decided to rip it up my street and rode straight past me and even managed to backfire right next to my ear.

Instances like this always leave me really anxious and depressed about the effect it had on my hearing. I’m experiencing fullness in my left ear and suffering really bad with managing my anxieties/anger. It really angers me that these people ride these loud things with complete disregard to others, they ruin my day completely.

Do you think any damage might’ve been done? Also, do you have any ideas on how to manage my anxiety when these types of things happen? I’m subject to a huge amount of loud cars/motorbikes/dirt bikes in my area to the point where I can’t even leave the house.

 

This happened to me a few times, unfortunately. One of them was real bad, and I had corticosteroids afterwards.

 

I'm so sorry this happened to you. This has happened to me while walking my dog (except with motorcycles and scooters/mopeds). I've never thought it loud or long enough to cause actual trauma -- my guess is something like 100 dB for a few seconds is not long or loud enough to do damage. Not great, but not a deal breaker. I generally make sure I take Magnesium and other vitamins when something like this happens. I have asked for steroids in the past when this happened, but my dr said no. And so far nothing has gotten worse and my hyperacusis even improved dramatically on its own, even with random loud sounds here and there (my dog can bark at 95 dB, which is something that has helped me realize that occasional loud sounds wont hurt me)

For managing anxiety --

Breathing. Make sure your inhale is longer than your inhale. I read the book "Breath" by James Nestor and it changed my life. I do the breathing exercises in the book. Google "4-7-8 breath." There are variations but the key is the longer exhale relative to the inhale. And you really only have to do it a few times to feel the benefit. When I do this in bed, I fall asleep very quickly. But I also do it if I get anxious.

Right after hearing a loud sound that causes me anxiety or startles me -- I think it's just a sound, and I am ok. Lots of sounds and I am still alive. I also call someone to talk or pet my dog. Laughing at something helps. Distractions. Don't get caught up in the sound.

You will be ok. If you can, bring ear protection with you on your walks. I had to do this with my dog because of sirens and random stuff, but then I started to walk my dog on a college campus and it's much quieter and more pleasant.