Feel Pathetic — New Tone

Hi all,

I have been wearing hearing protection pretty much constantly over the past two weeks. This includes to sleep. I have tried to break this cycle by not wearing earplugs whilst in bed before I sleep. As I took my earplugs out last night and before I had adjusted, my partner rolled over towards me and coughed loudly (roughly 30cm away from me (she was asleep)).

This has caused a spike in right ear and significant anxiety, as I had no protection at all.

My question is, is this stupid to worry about?

Could a loud cough cause a spike if only exposed for a second or two?

Is this anxiety driven?

Right ear also feels full. I'm so angry as I have recently always protected. Just goes to show sh*t happens to good people.

 

anyone?

Am I being stupid?

 

Could really do with an objective yet friendly voice right now!

 

Hello, sorry you’re so anxious about the cough, honestly, don’t worry. If we protect our poor noisy ears against normal everyday noises we wouldn’t have a life, and it’s not good to wear ear plugs all the time as when you take them out, your ears will be even more sensitive. They’ve got to adjust again and again.
Please, please don’t worry, the coughing would not, in any way, have caused a spike or damage.

 

A cough is not loud enough to damage your hearing. If you are experiencing a spike it is likely due to anxiety. Anxiety plays a very real role in increasing the perception of T.

Wearing earplugs every day in quiet environments likely contributed to the cough sounding louder. Our brains can increase auditory gain in an attempt to hear better when there is minimal noise, which will make everything seem louder.

Think of earplugs similar to sunglasses. If you wore sunglasses both outside and in your home all day, every day for two weeks, your eyes would become more sensitive to light — not less sensitive. Everything, even a dimly lit room, would seem too bright once you removed the sunglasses. Sunglasses serve a purpose, and so do earplugs. Over use of either is not helpful.

 

thanks @slipware and @Tinker Bell

I am really freaking out at the moment and just want a sense of calm and normality to resume. trying to self expose myself again to sounds, especially within the home, as I can't go through live with earmuffs on all the time. I'm not sure, rationally, that we have to either, especially in cafes and offices, yet at the moment I am wearing muffs and plugs!

What a mess!

Thank you for getting back to me. Really needed to hear reassurance from those knowledgable.

 

I say this in a friendly way, possibly seek some counseling. Your fears and anxiety are the main issue here, talk it out and try to reduce it. Overprotecting your ears is never a good thing, it just trains your mind for negativity and it's not healthy.

 

Seconded

 

I have been getting spikes under similar circumstances. It ought to be temporary, though.

 

Hi @fishbone and @Burnsie - thanks for getting back in touch. I certainly need to address this anxiety as it is becoming a runaway train that is dominating everyday.

Hard to differentiate actual threat from imagined threats. Thanks for the support guys!

 

Hi @Bill Bauer did your hearing spike from things as seemingly innocuous as others coughing?

Do you wear protection around the house?

 

I had a serious spike that had lasted for over three months after pressing a loud phone to my bad ear.

I have had several spikes after doors got slammed 1-3 meters from me. I also had a spike after some glass plates clanked about 30 cm from my bad ear. That seems to have caused T to transfer to my formerly good ear. It has faded, but it is still there.

I wear hearing protection whenever I am outside my home. I wore my muffs several times while doing the dishes, it felt good, but normally I don't do that.

 

Anxiety,fear, OCDs are very difficult to handle and I 100% know how you feel and have empathy for the pain you are going through. I have been in your shoes and know just how hard it can be. I'll share a story with you, I use to have a very BAD and i mean BAD OCD about locking my doors so my dogs wouldn't run away.

My father was not as nice as I am and he was actually quite cruel. He use to leave all the doors open in the house and all my dogs at one point or another have ran way and escaped. I have had to run into the streets looking for these dogs many times.

This was also on top of my having my brutal hyperacusis and tinnitus. This has affected me mentally and I still get dreams of my dogs running into the streets.

So when I moved into my own place, I had a very bad OCD of checking to see if my doors were locked. It was crippling for me, I did not have energy at times to even go through it. On top of that, I had a nosey neighbor that would always just leave his door open and look at other people's houses.

There were times when I was planning to go out and have a good day/night but I 'd just not do it because of my OCD.

I eventually came to the point where I fought back against this OCD and again overcame a very HARD and difficult obstacle that many poor folks suffer from. It was not an instant/overnight success. It took a long time and a lot of self love and just being brave to fight it.

These days I still have that OCD, but i check my doors for maybe 2 minutes, instead of 20 minutes.

We can overcome our fears and anxiety. Yes, we feel that we can't at times, but i know we CAN. I am no different than anyone here, but my WILL and DESIRE for beating the odds are my strengths.

I never knew I had such strength, but I learned quick and I'm proud of it.

So........Don't give up, take it slow and you can do this, it just takes time and lots of heart

 

Also, when we are mentally very fragile, everything an seem a bit scary and uncomfortable. Your mind is a muscle, you need to work it out, train it and keep at it. It will eventually become stronger and more resilient too. A strong mind, is the most valuable asset you will ever have in your life. We can accomplish great things in the 1 life we have to live. Mindset is very important and I come here to spread positivity and lift the moods and help people live better lives

 

@fishbone this type of post honestly makes me feel so much better. I cant thank you enough for sharing!

Just to know someone walks this affliction down each day with your positive attitude means that I too, hopefully, one day, can do the same!

Do you have any advice on increasing mental strength and fortitude?

 

I guess for me, life has thrown me so many curve balls....I had to ADJUST the way I hit them. I just got tired of being a victim and fought back. It gives such an empowering feeling to confront your issues and overcome them. Everyone has issues and it's a hard life. It takes time, courage and the INNER desire to want to change something. That's how I look at it, I just have the drive and willpower to never let anything defeat me.

I use to read a lot of motivational books when I first started college. I use to like these girls in highschool and they'd never even look at me. I went to college, grew my hair out, lifted weights and then they wanted to go out with me.

Life needs adjusting at times, we need to change things at times to get a desired outcome. Small steps, small victories are HUGE. Small steps can lead to a larger changed outcome, we just have to take those small steps and have the desire to continue them. I can go on and on about motivation and our willpower, but you get the picture

PS- I have always wanted to do motivational speaking, from all the feedbacks I have gotten....it seems like a natural fit for me

 

Do you wear them in conversation with people, or when visitors come over?

Asking out of interest, as I wear mine outside the home and ad hoc inside the home

 

I am fortunate in that only one of my ears was subject to an acoustic trauma. I wear an earplug in that ear. I imagine I would have to ask people to repeat themselves if I were to wear earplugs in both ears.

 

Fishbone is just a wonderful source of encouragement and positive energy. I don’t think he’s in the UK? (are you?) but he uses his own experiences to try to help other people. Also, well done to him for challenging the OCD anxiety.
Hi Spikeears, have you thought about Clinical hypnotherapy for your anxiety. I met with someone yesterday and I’m going to give it go. She’s given me a CD to play and I found it helpful last night with all the positive suggestions. Both of you, please stay away from those who deplete you with their negativity. Eve