Door Slamming — 96 dB

Today at work a door slammed about 2 feet away from me and I feel like my tinnitus has increased because of it.

I measured the decibel level later on while wearing earplugs by slamming the door again and it was 96 dB.

Am I stressing out and has this caused a spike in my tinnitus or has the door slamming caused damages to my ears?

 

To brief of an exposure to cause any damage. I get hit with sounds like this all the time, as its completely unavoidable in the noisy world we live in. Might upset your H a little if you have that, but not going to cause any damage.

 

@sven1987 You are stressing yourself out and it's understandable in the early stages of tinnitus. Try to calm down. Although ears a sensitive they are more resilient than many think. Try and forget about the door. Click on the link below and read the articles that you might find helpful. Try to read them in full and not skim through them. I suggest reading: Hyperacusis, As I see it, first.
All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Thanks guys! A slamming door could cause a spike though right? I just hate that this has happened especially considering that I felt like my T was steadily decreasing these last few weeks.

 

I am fairly sure no damage was done @sven1987 Now that you are more aware of your ears since the onset of your tinnitus. It is this that's making you think that you have a spike. It is true if you have hyperacusis, that could cause a spike but it's nothing to worry about. Read the articles you will feel better.
Michael

 

Anything can cause a spike especially when you are in the beginning. You will get less sensitive as time goes on. Just be patient and be smart when it comes to your surroundings. I got a terrible spike in the beginning trying to swat a mosquito with my hands. That night i had crazy loud T. Almost a year later i can clap my hands and i dont get spikes but of course i try not to do that very often.

 

If you don't like a noise, don't do it again just to measure the volume, even with earplugs. It only adds to the stress you have. There's nothing you can do, doors will be slammed again, just forget about it.

 

Just had the same thing happen to me. Sitting in a van and the door was slammed which resulted in a noise of 106db, on the decibel 10 app. Can now hear spiking and anxiety etc is shooting up!

 

@sven1987 did you recover post spike?

 

Yes I did. I don’t remember exactly how long it took for the spike to go down. I estimate it must have been about a day or two, so hang in there!

 

Same here. This had happened to me many times. The spikes normally don't last longer than a week. Having said that, this is certainly not promoting recovery. It is even possible that if one has enough of these temporary spikes, eventually the spike becomes permanent. So don't worry if you get exposed like that, it is unavoidable, but try to minimize the number of times this happens to you.

 

Do you have the app permanently open?

 

I have it open when I get anxious about the predicted volume of a sound.

Been in this van all day (work purposes) and colleague has slammed door 5 times, with each time being between 103-106db. Popped earphones on for all but the first.

@Bill Bauer in the interests of your quote about needing to hit a wall with a hammer several times before seeing the other side, will the headphones suffice for protection against these loud incidents?

 

Noise cancelling headphones will work when the noise is steady, like that inside of an airplane. To protect yourself against things like slamming doors or motorcycles accelerating near you, you will want to either wear earplugs or wear Peltor ear muffs.