Girlfriend Screamed at Top of Voice a Few Meters from Me When We Had an Argument

Hi all,

I try not to come on here too much nowadays, but every now and then it’s nice to hear any advice/thoughts from people.

Last night my girlfriend screamed as loud as she could at the top of her voice for about 3–4 seconds 3.5 meters away from me.

It was the loudest I’ve ever heard her scream, and even though I plugged my ears (by very firmly depressing the tragus) the entire time, but it still felt loud as it was so high pitched, and still it has made my tinnitus louder.

I would just like to know if any of you have any experiences of this, or think that it could likely cause a permanent increase in my tinnitus?

I didn’t get any sleep last night as it spiked my left ear really badly.

I always ask her not to shout and scream when she’s angry, and she knows how it affects my tinnitus, however she always does it and has little bother how it affects me. This scream was much louder than usual though. Something akin to this video at 5:51 –

Ultimate Guinness World Records Show - Episode...

The lady in the video above screamed at 110 dB and 113 dB at around 3.5–4m from the recorder (a similar distance to me from my girlfriend). As I understand, depressing the tragic firmly offers around 25 dB protection, so that leaves me at a potential exposure of around 88 dB. It doesn’t sound like a big exposure for 3–4 seconds, however it was such a high pitch and it has really spiked my ears I just don’t know what to think.

Any experiences or thought are appreciated (about the tinnitus, not about my girlfriend!)

Thanks as always,
R

 

@Rust, what was the result, did you get a permanent spike?

 

I am not him, but just wanted to let you know.

Spikes are never permanent. They commonly last a few minutes/hours, they might last a day or two if you are in the phase of anxiety.

The more relaxed you are, the sooner it will go away. If it has lasted longer, it is very likely your anxiety that is fuelling it.

G'day.

 

Holy shit, don't spread misinformation like that. If I fire a shotgun next to your unprotected ear, you can very likely get a spike that never goes down and forms a new baseline.

Thousands of people on these forums have experienced spikes that turned out to be permanent, forming new baseline for their tinnitus.

How can you be so clueless?

 

Well, I can see you are quite upset. Perhaps our experiences ain't the same? How about having a conversation instead of getting worked up and disrespectful?

When someone fires a shotgun next to your ears, it is fresh damage. It ain't just a spike. Screaming and firing a shotgun ain't the same.

Spikes 99.9 times out of 100 are temporary and won't last. We've to consider the reason for the spike while responding to someone and not just give them a reason to worry by quoting the 0.1 percent possibility of something happening for a completely different reason.

It is like someone going on a jungle safari asking you if they might get killed. You'd say nobody has ever gotten killed in the history of their business. Then you'd come in claiming how tigers kill xyz number of people every year. Yes, tigers do kill people, but not during this safari.

Please disagree with me all you want, but people need to view everyone's opinion.

G'day.

 

I had a very similar situation and over 2.5 years later it is still as bad as it was, life changing. So for @DeepakB to say spikes are not permanent, he lives in cuckoo land.

Your best bet is to try and avoid any more traumas and give your ears the best chance to heal. If there’s a chance your girlfriend could scream at you again, I would seriously consider separating. May sound dramatic but I know first-hand how debilitating this condition can become through this sort of loud noise.

 

I have had many spikes that permantly reset my tinnitus level much higher than the previous level. I must be a unicorn or your generalization is false.

 

What is all this? Measuring and obsessing over the volume of something in the past is no help. I wouldn't think of it. It has either caused a spike or it hasn't. Thinking about it will not help you.

 

One cannot really have an argument when suffering from hyperacusis

 

I won't argue with a unicorn.

Of course. You must visit sometime.

 

Although it may not seem like it, the human voice can be the cause of fresh damage, as well as spikes of existing symptoms.

All of my ear problems came from a horrifically loud person who shouted at me at close range in claustrophobically cramped environments--sometimes from less than six inches away, even though I asked her not to. So please don't underestimate how dangerous it is to let somebody shout at you. If it's loud enough and close enough, it can be damaging.

It happened to singer and actress Liza Minnelli too. Her father screamed right next to her ear just one time in 1973, and it gave her tinnitus.

The original poster of this topic hasn't been around in ages, but I do hope his spike went away.

 

Did you know she was going to scream? If not, you wouldn't have been able to plug your ears the entire time, and you would have been subjected to the full intensity temporarily before your reaction and getting your ears plugged.

Wow. Sounds like someone who should be sent packing. That is simply unacceptable.

A spike isn't necessarily just a temporary thing, but it could be your tinnitus hitting a new baseline, since it tends to get worse over time, anyway, even more so with noise trauma.