Exposed to Loud Speakers — Ear Pain Again After 6 Year Recovery

Hello out there...

I habituated 5-6 years ago from an acoustic trauma (failed ear protection at the shooting range + a life long of auditory carelessness). My tinnitus, previously keeping me up all night every night and causing crippling anxiety, depression, and isolation, was now manageable and was no longer keeping my brain “on edge”. My ear pain, previously constant, debilitating, and exacerbated by a friend’s laughter, the TV, a restaurant, a dog, the dishes, the radio, wind, anything really, went away for the most part. After a year or two or healing I gradually went on from being miserable and isolated - to live a life that was largely absent of ear worries, but I stopped my “wild ways” and kept away from loud concerts, headphones, power tools without ear protection, firearms. etc. Moderately loud noises (bars, a smoke alarm, music at a normal volume, people talking loudly or yelling) were surprisingly uneventful in recent years when it came to my ears’ responses, compared to how it used to be. I felt very fortunate and tried to balance living my life, working, socializing, etc, while consciously avoiding damaging noise, as I know the Things can always return.

I was just giving advice to a friend who recently started experiencing permanent (so far) tinnitus. I was giving him hope as my condition had come a long way in healing since 2014-2015. That night, an explosion went off near the apartment. Still unsure what it was - sounded like bomb went off next door -it caused a twinge of ear pain, some muffling, and I was a bit nervous, but it subsided the next day. I felt very lucky and relieved.

The day after that, we were at a restaurant, and a band was setting up unbeknownst to me. Before I’d finished my meal, the speakers were turned on full blast with the band starting, the noise unbearable, to “club volumes”, painfully loud, bass shaking the whole place. I got out of there as quickly as possible but my tinnitus and ear pain are now back to just slightly better than when I first experienced them years ago. The pain is constant and I don’t want to hear anyone, talk to anyone, do anything except hide. My tinnitus is again high pitched and grating and I feel like my brain is constantly in “high alert mode” over it, therefore I feel exhausted. This was 4 days ago. I feel (almost) back to where I started with my injury many years ago and I’m scared my ears may not heal this time after repeating the injury.

I have had exposure to such noise in the past 6 years, accidentally, and none in the past four years have caused this response for more than a day. The first couple of years were up and down, I admit, as my ears healed and adjusted. I did and do still hear, on occasion, some random phantom noises, short tones, brief moments of no hearing etc, but they come and go and are unbothersome, maybe two or 3 times a week, nothing major, just weird.

I should add, the hyperacusis is not nearly as bad as it used to be at least. Ear pain is the problem, yes, but sounds are bearable - I’m just avoiding them because from my experience they have aggravated the soreness/fullness/pain situation.

Has anyone else experienced a setback after so many years and recovered? Can you recommend any temporary remedies for the soreness and fullness while the healing takes place? Am I potentially back at square one, avoiding the world and suffering from insomnia for a year or 2 again (or who knows how long this time) while I heal? There are so many ways in which I need to regain health and recover wellness for myself in general, and the thought of my ear issues having successfully “healed” (or habituated) was really reassuring me that my future looked bright in regards to healing those other aspects of my life too... anyway so it kind of feels a bit disheartening.

Of course my poor friend saw all this happen right after I gave him my optimistic tinnitus morale-booster story... and now he’s pretty disheartened too!

I wish for a relatively quiet and bearable day for everyone here, and better days ahead for you.

 

I'm very sorry to hear of your troubles. Consider Prednisone and judicious and sparing use of a benzo to make it through the early stages?

 

The longer a person habituates to noise induced tinnitus, the more likely they are to forget ever having the condition, as their brain is able to comfortably ignore it. Whilst this is a good thing unfortunately there are hidden dangers that some people are not aware of. One can easily think all is now well but nothing more could be further from the truth, even after a long habituation period of 6 years or more.

The auditory system is never quite the same after it has been affected by noise trauma and tinnitus has developed. If hyperacusis is present it can complicate matters but habituation is still possible. This will depend on how severe the tinnitus and hyperacusis are and will determine whether a person will need to seek specialist treatment by seeing Audiologist or recovery will happen naturally without treatment.

After a noise trauma the ear and auditory system are more sensitive to sound so a person needs to be careful of exposure to loud noise and I advise not to use any type of headphones even at low volume, as there's a risk of aggravating the tinnitus. Some people with noise induced tinnitus are not affected by headphones but many are.

Please click on the links below and read my posts.

It is probably a good idea to have some tests done at ENT and if necessary see an Audiologist that specialises in noise induced tinnitus. Hopefully the spike will calm down so give it time.

All the best
Michael

Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
The Habituation Process | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Hi,

I'm in exactly the same position!

10 years ago I got ear pain, fullness, jaw ache etc from a jet engine. It lasted 5 long years 24/7 until it sort of melted away and I began living again.

Last year my idiot brother pulled a wheel spin which created loads of noise (I was probably exposed to a second or 2) and the pain came roaring back in.

Like you I'm praying I can heal again! The pain has stepped down a bit but I still experience constant jaw ache and occasional ear burning.

I'm back to searching Google all day for an answer and constantly focusing on my ear and the pain.

My feeling is if we healed before, we'll heal again, given time and patience. Problem is it could take years!

Shaun.

 

Me too I had hyperacusis and tinnitus back in 2017. Everything went away from 2018 to 2020. Now in 2021 I developed horrible hyperacusis and sound distortions from lifting too heavy in the gym. As I was trying to figure out what happened and was feeling a bit better I got in a car accident and my front airbag blew up. It was horrible, it was like a gun shot an inch away from my face.

Now I can’t work, can barely go to the gym, can barely go to the grocery store, my ears are messed up so bad. The worst part is the distortions. If you don’t have them, you’re lucky, it drives me absolutely crazy. Some days everything has a loud whine glass sound to it, other days just a light fluttering.

I’m getting settlement money from the accident, so I’m going to lay low for a year. Let my ears heal and fix themselves. If I were you, I would get tested to see if you have hearing loss. If you do, take Prednisone ASAP. It helps a lot. It’s most effective 1-3 days after trauma.

What went off near your house? You were inside? My neighbors lit Morters off a month ago and it was loud but it did not mess up my ears. You should be fine, just rest up.

 

@GBB - I took your advice... thank you. Worked like a dream for a few days.

@Michael Leigh - You are spot on. This is a lifetime illness and despite how badly I may be sick of it or “over it” , here we are. Thank you for the advice on seeing an ENT and audiologist although they did some tests (normal) and shrugged their shoulders... it was good to be reassured that it wasn’t anything else, however.

@ShaunR - I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s hard to avoid random road noise and accidents in this world of engines and metal and loudspeakers, right? But your words comforted me. I’m sure you can heal again- I’m happy to hear yours has become milder over time, that’s a good omen?

@Brian Newman - Ugh what horrible luck, that airbag. I do have distortions, it’s like I can feel when a sound moves past me, ear to ear, if that makes sense. Kinda disorienting. Used to get that flutter but it settled after 3 years or so. I didn’t mind it really because it didn’t hurt. And I don’t know what the explosion was- I was out on the porch, sounded like a gas line blew up or a house exploded, but in the morning all looked well... I was in Mexico and my Spanish wasn’t eloquent enough to get the scoop from anyone...

So anyways, an update. My fullness/pain etc turned into my first migraine ever, for days, complete with vision blur tones, big floaters, fogginess, light and sound sensitivity - enough to freak this already anxiety ridden person out. I’m alone on the road working right now, I imagine if anyone else was around for perspective I may not have done this but... oh jeez y’all are gonna slap me ...

I went in to the doctors again after the ENT told me an MRI would be the next step. I got the MRI as the doctors had me filled with visions of acoustic neuromas and aneurysms. I went into the MRI totally unsuspecting of the noise level of a 3T machine, and I don’t think the ear plugs were sufficient.

Back to bad pain, ringing, now in both ears. I’m hoping a second trauma so quickly did not seal the deal. I can’t believe they prescribe MRI’s for noise trauma (or acoustic injury history) patients without warning on the decibel level or discussion on extra hearing protection. It seems grossly negligent. I can’t believe I went along with the test once I heard how loud it was. Or even agreed to doing it in the first place, so unnecessary. Anxiety...

I got more Prednisone for good measure. I have had two panic attacks alone in a parking lot and motel room. Side note: I went to see a Reiki practitioner (never done it, I was humoring a suggestion by my insistent mom, and I was desperate). Wouldn’t you know it, I was tinnitus free for the first time in 6 years after that Reiki treatment?? For three hours? No pain either. It returned, but wow...

The panic is killing me. I can’t work. I don’t feel myself at all. It brings me back, almost in what I could loosely term, a post-traumatic flashback response, all I hear is that 50 caliber rifle searing blinding pain through my brain and ears from the first trauma 6 hrs ago and the frightening recovery that followed. Now I keep remembering that stupid MRI machine of yesterday and envisioning the slaughter my already injured ears must have endured, and what may or may not lie in my future.

I was actually feeling more normal that morning I went to the hospital too, but the vision changes had me concerned. Shoulda left well enough alone. I’m sure it was migraine aura due to ear pain or even stress related. The MRI- what are they doing making them so loud anyway?!

I think about how another long timeframe of healing will affect my job (which I’ve gotten promoted heavily in the last 2 years... I already am way behind on my work for this week, can’t concentrate), my other “fun” job (bartending in a quiet neighborhood old timer bar in my small town), and how it will affect my relationship(s), specifically romantic. Who wants to be with a gal who is running away from everything all the time yelling about her ears? The guy I’m seeing is a musician. Maybe I need to look into mimes...?

Anyway, the stuff that makes me happy, will it be a part of my life in a month, you know? Not to mention sleep, relaxation, being able to enjoy hobbies, laugh and be myself- Will I have to drop everything and hermit and sabotage it all, like last time?

I know my thoughts are spiraling. The future is unknown. And my heart is beating fast despite the Valium I somehow coaxed from my ENT who likes everyone to get through everything sober somehow without pills... the nerve His approach is “learn to deal with it”, which is not too helpful but oddly comforting that he has that kind of faith I guess.

Well anyway, I had to get the thoughts written down. It’s ok if no one reads, lol.
I also felt like I needed to give an update since you were all so kind as to give me encouragement and support the other days. You are special people for taking your time to help others in that way!

Again I hope for good days for you all soon! What an awesome community and resource there is here.

 

Thank you for the additional information.

I believe the increase in your tinnitus after six years was caused by exposure to noise and probably more than one event was responsible. I say this because a similar thing happened to me after a long habituation period. Your auditory system would have built up some resistance but as I mentioned in my previous post, a person can become vulnerable as they are not aware of certain risks. My advice is not to worry over the MRI or normal everyday sounds and please do not resort to overusing earplugs, as this can cause stress and negative thinking which will make the tinnitus more intrusive. It was important that you had the MRI and I doubt it has caused any lasting problems so please forget about it.

You will habituate again but need to return to basics, even if you decide to do this without the professional help of an Audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. Stress and anxiety need to managed, so talk to your doctor if you are feeling things are becoming too much. If an antidepressant is recommended I suggest taking it. Refer to my articles on my started threads regularly, they are a form of counselling and will help reinforce positive thinking which takes time to acquire. Incorporating positivity into your life will enable you to do the things you like to do and in time habituation will happen. Do not rush things as you will put pressure on yourself and make the healing process more difficult. Please read my post: My experience with tinnitus.

I wish you well.
Michael

My Experience with Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with MRIs. You're right about the dangers and the frequent lack of warnings regarding the decibel levels. I would definitely recommend anyone having an MRI to ensure they have double hearing protection of ear muffs over ear plugs - simply going with the medical advice and putting in ear plugs alone will not be sufficient for any tinnitus sufferers.

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing the right thing now by taking Prednisone and limiting your future exposure to loud noise as much as possible - I wish you well with your recovery.

 

I figured out an easy fix to most of the loud noise problems. I keep getting setbacks from squealing car brakes, doors, people honking horns, loud noise that should not be happening. I finally said fuck it and just wear earplugs everywhere. I don’t care anymore, I found Mack’s black earplugs and they are like 33 dB and I wore them to the bar last night. Barely anybody knew I had them in.

I wore them to the gym, it was so nice, everybody clanking weights didn’t bother me at all. Wore them to Home Depot, stupid workers slamming wood pallets, no ear pain at all. For me earplugs help with 99 percent of the pain, my main fear is another airbag explosion. That will put me under the ground.

 

@Brian Newman, yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too. Earplugs tend to pop out of my ears due to the shape of my ear canal (reason for my hearing damage in the first place) but I may experiment with some different kinds for loud situations. I do still have hope I can habituate again though and am hoping my auditory nerve (?) will become less sensitive as it did once before...

No good news. Hearing distortions and pain continue to increase. The worst is a shrill vibration in my left ear when I hear certain sounds (including my own voice in some instances). Quite a bit worse since the MRI. Everything I read on the internet says this will be permanent. I may have to limit my time researching this and take things day by day, it just gives me so much crippling fear. I’m not here to complain, so I think I need to switch to reading the “Success Stories” category...

@Michael Leigh, thank you for your kind words and the resources/information. I see another habituation as so far from my current state of being but I know that you are right in managing stress and attitude. If you all can hang in there and retain hope then maybe so can I.

 

Oh yeah, I also realized since writing this, and reading through the forums, that I received the Pfizer COVID-19 shot 10 days before the tinnitus/pain/migraines began. Seems like that response is more common than I knew, and maybe could be playing a role. I’m due for the 2nd as of last week, I’m putting it off as long as possible. I see varying opinions about this here. Seems like you’re damned if ya do, and if ya don’t, as COVID-19 itself seems even more likely to worsen tinnitus and hyperacusis...

A - dare I say effective? - partial masking strategy that soothed me today after a particularly hellacious morning... windy day hike (I was at work), bandanna neck gaiter thing wrapped around ears to shield from pain from the coldness of the wind. Right ear was very full in the evening, but I was able to think about other stuff besides pain and disorientation for a few hours... that sweet sweet wind...

“Thinking positively”, as they say. I can’t sleep but this will be 36 hours so guess I should try. Next step: sleeping out in the wind, too. My fan/white noise are unable to mask the high frequency and grating feeling of the tinnitus tones as they used to do. Time heals, I know. There should be a Tinnitus Talk hotline for all us non sleepers out here to call to get through nights. Goodnight...

 

The Pfizer vaccine absolutely spiked my tinnitus and hyperacusis horribly. Happened about 5 days after my first dose. Not sure if it can be causally attributed to your spike since you say you had serious noise exposure right when this happened. But it is certainly a possibility.

My symptoms improved almost 90 percent back to baseline over the course of about 4 weeks and then suddenly spiked again. But just knowing that it can improve has given me peace of mind. I think it’s inflammation and will hopefully fully resolve over the next 6 months.

Thousands of folks are experiencing vaccine-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis, including a very prominent vaccinologist named Gregory Poland.

 

Try not to think habituation will be something unobtainable for the second time or it's far off into the distance, as this can instill negative thinking and is not good for you. This is completely different from feeling a little down or having an off day or two which happens. Instead, direct your thoughts into doing things that you enjoy and in time habituation will happen.

I wish you well.
Michael

 

@chinup, did you return for your second shot? If so, did it have the same effect? I hope you experience relief soon after the effects die down. I admire your acceptance and patience for your healing process and I think I could use a dose of that, thank you

I suppose it could make sense that the vaccine, causing general inflammation, could irritate the part of one’s body most prone to inflammation (past acoustic injury, recent acoustic injury, vestibular issues, brain fog, gut issues, headaches, whatever).
I’m surprised the vestibular/tinnitus issues are not getting as much media attention as say, blood clots, if such a high profile vaccinologist experienced them. What’s the deal with that, I wonder?? Is it because no one ends up immediately dead from those effects, however debilitating? Hmm.

I agree I had a lot of things going on in my case, so the vaccine is likely not the sole cause if at all a cause. Also, I wonder how many onsets attributed to vaccination could be correlated with the fact that so many people in the US have been vaccinated in such a short time, so any onsets/exacerbations of ear conditions within the last few months would be more likely to have happened around the time of a vaccination? Probably some of both... I really am not keen on that second shot either way, I’ll have to anti-inflammatory the crap out of myself with diet and supplements before going if I do and muster up a whole pile of faith.

Just curious - Have any of you decided to move to a quieter rural area to deal with this condition? I’ve almost always lived rural, at least in the past 10 years, but I can’t imagine dealing with the healing process of hyperacusis and tinnitus constantly assaulted by surprise town/city noises.

 

Well I was doing much better but I was at the gym and somebody slammed a bench next to me when I was squatting. I have a new computer-like tone in my right ear. I tried wearing earplugs to the gym again and for some reason it makes my head pressure and distortions much worse and then I wake up with a new distortion tone.

This is the first time ever I have not been able to sleep at all. No matter how bad my ears were, I used to be able to always fall asleep. Now that computer static noise is horrible, and the beeping distortions don’t let me sleep. Unsure what to do anymore.

 

@Brian Newman, oh my gosh- wow, that is rough... Your ears were improving previously though, so hopefully they get back to their healing. I don’t know if I could handle beeping honestly - Habituating to that must take some real brain gymnastics. My tinnitus is moderately loud 13 kHz -15 kHz high frequency screech which is maddening enough to me. I sincerely hope your recent spike subsides soon as you say you’ve been so careful with protecting your ears lately. Lets hope your tones get more manageable at least since you say they change often...

I actually started doing what you suggested with plugging everywhere, but they still tend to pop out even though I got Hearos Minis. Still, they have allowed me to at least see some other human beings and be in public a little recently as my symptoms have progressed to be a bit worse - I don’t care if I look like a nut I’ll wear earmuffs if I have to, to keep trying to live some semblance of a normal life. Hiding alone indoors and obsessing about my situation and every spike or loud noise exposure makes me insane and miserable. And a sh** patient to anyone who is trying to help... :/

So thank you for the idea. When you wrote your previous response I couldn’t even imagine going to the gym or a bar even with ear plugs in but man it’s been nice for “continuing to want to live” to try to do some regular life things and not rot in bed scouring the internet for answers that don’t exist.

Speaking of “fun” (or whatever passes for fun for me now), the other thing I’ve changed since this post is trying to focus on distraction, such as hikes with the dog, visiting my little nieces and nephews, yard work, cooking... this has proved to be moderately-pleasant and I notice the pain/ringing/general misery less when out doing things even though the f***ing plugs hurt to wear after a couple hours because I have to keep shoving them in again and again when they come out. Pain either way it seems. The tinnitus I can do, the stabbing pain and rawness is awful though.

I have no shame in taking stuff to help me sleep as I believe sleep is the root of all healing. I honestly have stopped caring what, as long as I can sleep. Usually some combo of CBD, Melatonin, a beer, THC, a benzo if it’s bad and not more than a couple times/week, Passion Flower/hops tincture, Benadryl... If I don’t sleep, my mental and physical condition declines rapidly so during these initial months I’m just getting it however I can get it.

Do you take anything? Get your sleep somehow, for damn sure. Can any sound mask your beeping? Maybe that’s a stupid question.

Let me know how things go with you, if you like. I don’t want to say good luck because I hate pinning everything on “luck”. How about Godspeed...

 

I think if you want to continue working out, you'll have to use a different approach, different gym, somewhere quieter or even at home. Maybe use vented earplugs? The pressure or how tight they are could be making things worse as your middle ear changes pressure (and now the eardrum won't flex with an airtight seal ahead of it).

I noticed earplugs are not a great idea for weight lifting with distortions. I still get distortions without earplugs, but it's different as the ears actually get to flex more.

My last workout without earplugs, once I got to a quiet space, I had a pretty intense head ringing... but no distortions this time.

 

Thanks for the advice Matchbox, I appreciate it man. You are right, for the longest time I was like there is no way an earplug can cause increased pressure. That makes sense that the eardrum cannot flex, keeping some pressure in the middle ear.

I think you are the one who told me it still could be a fistula. It feels like something is trying to heal. I’ll be good for a month or so, then my head pressure will build and build and all it takes is a little too much stressing in the gym, then my ears start hurting, and ringing like crazy. The hyperacusis gets worse, I usually develop a new distortion, then I’m back to square one. It has happened 4 times already.

All of this sucks to deal with because whatever I did in the gym 6 months ago was horribly worsened by a car accident airbag deployment. That is when I got fluttering tinnitus in my good ear and horrible hyperacusis in it. The hyperacusis is weird as hell. I’m ok with normal noises but anything loud hurts a bit, and high pitched noises like squealing car breaks and dishes will feel like a needle in my ear. If I rest for a few weeks the pain slowly goes away. But it’s so easy to set it off.

I still think it could be a fistula in both ears, or a compressed auditory nerve. I read something about the compressed auditory nerve on this website.

And my last hunch is that I’m pretty sure there is mold in my house, which is not helping. I’m using air purifiers though, and they help a little.

Sorry for the rant man. I just keep getting worse and worse, I’m at the point where I have to stop going to the gym which was the last thing I had left. I can’t go out, can’t work, can’t do anything anymore.

I’m usually ok if I wear earplugs to quiet places, but when I wear them, they make the stress in my ears easier to set off if that makes sense. In the gym, without earplugs, 275 lbs bench will set my ears off. And with earplugs, 135 lbs.

This shit is debilitating man.

 

Hey, yeah, read what I said to Matchbox above, it explains everything a little more. But it’s pretty fucked up, the ringing in my right ear is not bad, the beeping is usually quiet in it. The fluttering in my left ear has a mind of its own. Sometimes it will be a 7 or 8 out of 10, other times it will be a 2. The worst thing is the distortion. I have a beeping distortion as well, along with a whistling distortion, and a selective tone distortion. After somebody slammed a bench in the gym on Tuesday, I now have a computer loading noise in my right ear too.

I don’t even know what to do anymore. I told my parents I can’t work anymore. They need to find a new manager. I’m most likely going to give up the gym. It’s the only thing that helps my depression. On bad nights I have to hear horrible fluttering, or turn my iPad sound app on and listen to horrible distortion, there’s no really masking it. It’s so inconsistent too which is way more annoying than just a high pitch eeeeeeeee. At least with the normal ringing you can get used to it over time. This you can’t. I have to get in mental state when I’m trying to sleep. Lol I call it the art of not giving a fuck. I try to pretend the noises are coming from outside or my TV.

I have been taking Lipoflavonoid, Magnesium, vitamin D, and Zinc. And damn does that combo help the normal ringing. I would try all that for sure if I were you.

 

Well, anything you can do to avoid increasing CSF pressure will probably help. So avoiding anything where your head is in line with your body or below while stressing. Things like chest flies standing/sitting would be good to see if they work. My workouts have been light and I haven't been to a real gym since my tinnitus onset (8 months), but with body weight and 40 lb weights I don't seem to get anything but temporary spikes (hour long).

Is it a fistula? Who knows, push comes to shove, I didn't do much working out for a while, seemed to get better, then I bend over and I lose hearing in my ear, like bam, while working on my car. ONLY one frequency on the hearing test though, 8 kHz down 30 dB... that's all. It came back in a few hours but now I have whistling in that ear and ringing.
My doctors are confused as sudden hearing loss doesn't "happen that way").

It could also be secondary hydrops too. Perhaps the damaged frequency has damaged membranes so rupturing them or having them flex excessively from pressure or noise is possible. Not much to fix that other than time. I will try a powder that seems to help some Meniere's patients. Plus, Betahistine "seems" to help my ear fullness. I read a study where dead people with Meniere's had tears in the membrane separating endolympth/perilymph, some had "ossified," others weren't healed! So perhaps we always have leaks and our poor ion pumps can't keep up. Growth of bone isn't good either, stiffens everything and replaces dead cells. Generally speaking there's supposed to be scar tissue that forms on a noise trauma once some areas die off and the membrane leaks. Surrounding cells die and scar in order to heal it/plug the leak.

 

A perilymphatic fistula is basically a hole in the cochlea. Most people get it from barotrauma, or some from heavy lifting. None of my ENTs think it’s that because I’m not dizzy (with a perilymphatic fistula, fluid sometimes leaks out through the hole and gets into the middle ear, causing crazy dizziness.)

What caused your ear problems again?