Exposed to a Very Loud Noise Through Headphones for 5-10 Seconds

So I was watching some YouTube videos with headphones connected to my PC, and something very odd and alarming happened. There was a VERY sudden, VERY loud noise - like a constant air raid siren or some noise that sounds similar to that. Anyway, what's odd is that it definitely was louder than my headphones & PC's maximum volume settings (because I've listened to music on maximum on both for short periods of time previously). I am terrified of how many decibels it could've been. The noise seriously scrambled my brain so much that I was checking to see if it was my music doing it, etc, and I didn't even immediately consider hearing damage so I didn't take them off for around 5-10 seconds.

Fast forward to now, about an hour and a half later and my left ear has a dull pain on the inside and my hearing feels a bit muffled. I do not hear any ringing yet, but I suspect that might come soon? I'm so sorry if this forum is not the place for this, but after googling what's happened, this is the only place where I saw others talk about similar things happening to them.

I guess I'm worried that I'm gonna lose hearing in that ear and that the pain will get worse. I can't find much on google about this, and I have no idea how loud the sound was exactly... but it was very loud, and right on my ears. So I'm scared. I guess I just wanted someone to talk to about it.

Thank you in advance, sorry for my rambling

 

Hi. Take some chelated magnesium and nac if possible - have your parents get you some if possible so you can absolve any damage that has been inflicted into your ears. This is just a theory of mine, but if you have muffled hearing, I feel like in this stage anything can bring on the tinnitus and it's up to you to be vigilant in this stage. So, protect your ears, try to rest your ears for at least two weeks from loud noises and some concerning moderate noises: like door slamming, music in a car, fans right by your head, blow dryer, vacuum, garbage disposals, high pitched beeps and lawn equipment and possibly yelling. No headphones for you. No phones pressed to your ear, speak on a volume you can still understand from speaker phone.

I hope you do not have to suffer from this.

 

A lot of people here would recommend you go to an ER and say you have suffered an acoustic trauma to get some some prednisone ASAP.

 

Wait till tomorrow morning.

If you still have muffled hearing, go to the ER or an ENT and have you hearing checked. If you have an auditory threshold shift they make give you prednisone.

As recommend by @GSC, try to take some magnesium citrate, NAC, or vitamin C. These work best if taken BEFORE the acoustic trauma, but it cant hurt to take after.

 

It probably won't.

Nevertheless, if I were you, I would be easy on my ears for the next year or two - no concerts, no headphones, etc.

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822
as some of the tips there might be helpful to you [e.g., a URL to ensure the drugs that you are about to take aren't ototoxic (toxic to the ear), no microsuction, no ultrasonic dental cleaning, etc.]

 

Thank you for your comments. I would've been in a much more severe panic if it weren't for reading threads on this forum.
The pain is still there, but it's not constant. A brief, dull pain every once in 15-20 minutes. And my hearing is also not so noticeably muffled. I feel like I might've been quite a bit more anxious when I made the post, and it might've just been making me more sensitive to slight changes.

Either way, I thought that changes in hearing and stuff were supposed to come a day or two later, not so immediately? I'm probably misinformed. I'll read up some more on the forums.

Sorry, I have a habit of asking too many questions (so I'm not trying to be rude or anything, just genuinely curious), but why do you say that it probably won't? Because of the length of time I was exposed, what the noise came from, or the fact that I haven't heard it yet? Even if I don't end up suffering from this, I would like to have a better understanding of it so I can better protect myself, and just want to learn more in general. TIA Bill

 

And unfortunately I cannot make a trip to the ER for prednisone right now. :/

 

You and literally had the exact same mistake.

Take as much magnesium as possible like @GSC suggests. The pain indicates the ear is damaged.

 

The fact that you haven't heard it yet. Even in the unlikely case that you you do eventually hear it, there is a good chance that it will go away within a couple of days. If it is still there after two weeks, you are probably going to have to deal with this for a while. Even in that case, there is a good chance that it will begin fading after a month or two. This fading might take 3-24 months to get to silence or to a "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage. As you can see, there is no reason to panic just now. In the worst case scenario, if you get T and it doesn't fade, just today a possible cure was released by a company called Neuromod.

Ears take forever to heal, so if your muffled hearing (it is called "ear fullness") is still there a couple of days from now, you shouldn't freak out (although you might consider seeing an ENT).

It might be for the best, as Prednisone can cause Serious side effects. For example:

 

This happened to you as well? Sorta kinda unrelated but do you have any idea what caused that noise to happen? Like if it was my PC or the headphones? lol. Will avoid headphones at all costs for a long while, but when I do decide to use them I wouldn't want that to happen again. And when I was researching, couldn't find a single thing explaining why this might have even happened in the first place.