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.

 

[kingsfan]

Is it normal to be out for hours and have no pain or burning until about an hour after returning home?

I drove an hour and forty minutes to the city, took care of something, and then drove the same distance back. I had no issues while I was out. After getting back home, my ear started feeling really cold, and then the right side of my face and the back of my head started feeling numb and tingly.

 

[ECP]

It's fairly common for patients with hyperacusis not to feel any symptoms right away. That's what makes this so insidious. I hope your spike goes away.

 

[kingsfan]

Oh man, the hits keep coming. I didn't even get a chance to reply to comments before another incident happened.

I was trapped in a Target bathroom today for about a minute while some neckbeard-sounding guy spoke loudly over the intercom. He just wouldn't stop, as if he loved the sound of his own voice. I know it was loud because my Apple Watch alerted me, and that usually takes a solid stretch of sound above 80 dBA to trigger it.

I got the usual cold feeling in my ear, but this time my whole face from the temple down to my chin has been tingling for a few hours. At one point the sensation spread all the way down my neck to my shoulder. Touching my face makes it worse, and it feels especially bad around the joint in my jaw and my ear.

I'm worried that every time this happens it causes more deterioration. I hope that's not the case. I had everything planned out so carefully today and even found a quiet restroom with no hand dryers before my drive home, but something unforeseen always seems to happen.

 

[Badger55]

Have you tried consulting with ChatGPT? If you lay out your tinnitus history, including the things that triggered the initial onset and subsequent permanent spikes, along with any other relevant details such as COVID vaccines or COVID infections, it will provide you with a well-considered explanation of where you stand and your prognosis going forward. It can also suggest a multi-step action plan.

With respect to your recent sound exposure in the washroom, it will offer a carefully considered prognosis for full or partial recovery, taking into account the condition of your auditory system and your sleep deprivation status.

 

[kingsfan]

@Badger55, I try not to openly share personal information about myself with OpenAI and Palantir.

 

[Nes]

Oh man, the hits keep coming. I didn't even get a chance to reply to comments before another incident happened.

I was trapped in a Target bathroom today for about a minute while some neckbeard-sounding guy spoke loudly over the intercom. He just wouldn't stop, as if he loved the sound of his own voice. I know it was loud because my Apple Watch alerted me, and that usually takes a solid stretch of sound above 80 dBA to trigger it.

I got the usual cold feeling in my ear, but this time my whole face from the temple down to my chin has been tingling for a few hours. At one point the sensation spread all the way down my neck to my shoulder. Touching my face makes it worse, and it feels especially bad around the joint in my jaw and my ear.

I'm worried that every time this happens it causes more deterioration. I hope that's not the case. I had everything planned out so carefully today and even found a quiet restroom with no hand dryers before my drive home, but something unforeseen always seems to happen.

I know you've had this condition for a while, and that you know yourself better than anyone. But is there even the slightest chance that the radiating pain comes from clenching your jaw due to the stress that sounds cause?