Ear Pressure and Pain After a Restroom Hand Dryer and Child Screaming

[kingsfan]

I had been doing much better, but today I was making cold brew in my Oxo Rapid Brewer, and it became clogged. When I went to open it and release some pressure, it suddenly exploded with enough force to blow the O-ring out of the cylinder.

I was wearing both earplugs and earmuffs at the time. It was really startling. It did not seem especially loud, but afterward I started panicking, wondering if it might actually have been a very loud pulse sound. It had to have been, right?

Anyway, I have spent the whole day feeling incredibly anxious. My ears feel like they are burning a bit. My tinnitus seems more bothersome, but is it all just in my head?

 

[kingsfan]

Well, that exploding rapid brewer must have been louder than it seemed. Both ears have been burning all morning. A couple of weeks ago, the burning was only in my right ear, but now it appears to be in both.

I haven't even removed my earplugs all morning, and I've barely been around any sound, yet the burning continues. It actually gets worse when I breathe in through my nose.

I had reached a point where there was no burning at all. I could even watch videos on my phone without any issues for about a week. I was actually about to post that maybe the Prednisone I was taking had been causing the burning—but now I know it's actually from noise exposure.

 

[Jupiterman]

It is unfortunate to hear that even with double protection, you still experienced a noise exposure.

Bone conduction is a very real phenomenon.

When you are outside doing everyday activities, does double protection usually shield you from noise exposure?

 

[kingsfan]

I'm still embarrassed to wear earmuffs in public, so I only use earplugs. I do keep the earmuffs with me in the car, just in case an ambulance passes by or I break down on the highway.

That has happened twice now. The first time, I changed a flat tire using only earplugs, and my condition permanently worsened. The second time, I wore both earplugs and earmuffs while the tow truck driver hooked up my car. I was fine then, although I felt embarrassed.