Hard Times

Hello Everyone, I just developed T in both ears about 10 ten days ago. It is so loud and relentless. I never heard of it till now. I thank each and everyone of you on this forum for being brave enough to reach out and share your experiences, and survive this horrible condition. I am really struggling with it just day to day and nights are horrific. Mine was brought on by 40 years in a truck, with added hearing loss to help things along. I am hoping against hope that it will settle down a bit or I can cope with it. Seeing that I am not alone with this has been a tremendous boost for me. Again thank you all.

 

Welcome Patch.

Sorry to hear about this new unwanted beast in your life. Hope you are discussing this with your doctors and making appointments with an ENT ( ear nose throat) specialist. Another member here I know just quit driving and may be able to offer some advice. Feel free to look him up. He is very easy going and down to earth with all of this. Check out his profile and make contact to @Ecip.

In the meantime, do your best not to stress. Stress is a killer and will eventually increase the level of this noise. Feel free to contact any member here for any information you may need. You will find fantastic support and care on Tinnitus Talk. So many great people in your shoes.

Keep us all posted on things and best wishes on this journey.

Mike

 

Well hello there.
Have you quit driving yet?

I also believe that my tinnitus started from driving truck. Been doing gravel hauling for 7 years, and some local bodyjob work for a couple years before that.

When my T started it was very intrusive. It took about a month for it to calm down. I drove for another year, this past summer, but it bothered my ears and I think I'm done now for sure with this.. Tired of driving. Tired of the noise. Tired of sitting there listening to my ears screaming.
It's calmed down a bit again from a week ago, but it's not where it was back in april/may, before I decided to go back on the road. I hope that, given enough time, that it will calm more once again.

Best thing to do; give your ears a rest.. Get away from the noise, get lots of sleep.. Easier said than done, but they'll calm down, I'm sure.

 

Thanks for the reply Mike. Have been to the doc, had hearing test etc. now on benzo or whatever its called for a couple of days to see if it helps. Thank you for @Ecip notation, I will look him up. I was supposed to leave for the east coast today but the doc figured I better give this demon a few days. Thanks again for the support. I will be back with updates.

Patch

 

If driving is your livelihood just wear earmuffs while you drive - plugs don't cut the bass frequencies very well but state of the art muffs like the peltor x5a work well inside vehicles that's what I would wear from now on - that's what I wear when I drive noisy cars

 

Hi Patch,

Welcome to the site!

I know it's not easy at first, but try not to stress and become anxious over it. Also, focus on getting as much rest as you can. Once your brain says "okay, I'm done fighting this", the noise will not become such a burden and your mind will gradually pay less and less attention to it. That is what is called "habituation". It will take some time, so be patient and try to keep your mind off of it by just living your life and doing things you enjoy. Best of luck!!

 

I've tried that. I started using ear plugs all the time, 6 to 10 hrs a day. I can't say it helped much. It did cut the noise, including the lower rumbling sounds, but my ears still bothered me more at the end of the day.
I've also tried ear muffs for a day. I didn't like them at all because although they removed higher pitched frequencies, they actually seemed to sort of amplify the lower rumble. Also, it was so obvious that I wore them, that the police, should they have seen me, would probably take issue with that.

 

Some ear muffs do that but not the x5a - try those and you will realize the difference with the other muffs

 

Good Afternoon Everyone, thank you for your input and advice. I haven't quit driving yet, or should say haven't been back on the road yet with this T. I was wondering about the noise levels as my truck as it is an older one. I am going for a short drive tomorrow and see how it is. Those x5a's could be the answer. I have those foam ear plugs and a set of headphone style I use when grinding etc. I'll see how the noise level affects me. On another note I was surprised last night, I got a really loud TONE sound in my right ear for about 1 second and then nothing. I mean my T just quit in that ear and was really toned down in my left ear. I was so happy.............for about a 1/2 hour, then it started all over again in both ears. But I am hoping if it does that on its own it might get better. The other thing I am already learning is food as a trigger to increase the volume. This certainly is one haywire, challenging, confusing, torture to do with. My heart goes out to everyone here!!! I think some days that this is the worst, but then think about other folks that are trapped in their bodies, can't hear or talk or move and how many other scenarios people are dealing with and I feel better. Not at their expense because of their condition, but because I can still walk, talk and live a normal life. It is a burden, but it seems minor compared to others. Just rambling a bit here as I read about that young 28 year old fellow that was talking about ending it all. I would have trouble with that just because I wouldn't know what was going to happen next. Anyway thank you to everyone and hang in there.

 

Hey, trucks are around 85 to 95 dB on the highway. If it has an American style jake brake then it'll peak at just above 100dB. It can indeed cause hearing damage. Don't ever drive with the window open either. It's VERY loud.

The short eeeep you heard in the ear is called fleeting tinnitus. It's normal, everyone has it, but seems to be especially common with tinnitus sufferers. Some say it's the ears/brains way of resetting itself, but who knows.

My advice: stay off the road. Get away from these noisy trucks, let your ears rest and listen to some nice nature/bird/rain sounds. It WILL get better.

 

My advice is forget about plugs for extended time - plugs are fine for a few hours when "looks " is an issue but the problem is:

- plugs don't let the earwax flow outside like it's designed to
-plugs don't cut bass rumble very well
- plugs will hurt your ear canal after a while

All these issues are solved with the x5a - don't buy any other type of muffs the other types don't come anywhere close to the sound reduction and comfort level achieved by this model

It's perfectly legal to drive if your deaf or wear plugs or muffs

 

The other issue with either method of noise reduction is that your tinnitus will seem louder and more intrusive. You'll literally sit there and listen to your T all day long.. I hated that.

 

yes but what I did is stick some very small but high quality earbuds inside my x5a and play a very low volume, high pitched, chimes sound from my iphone app..that calms my T because its send those high frequencies that the brain misses and avoids the silence while being so low in volume that no damage can occur.

So ear muffs give you a few options to protect your hearing while calming the T

 

Good Evening Everyone,
Thank you all for your replies and advice, I am taking it to heart. I had a rough night last night and thought well can't laze around forever so went out today and split some wood. Have an electric splitter, surprised me though, had to wear ear plugs as I found the motor really noisy. I'm glad it started to rain. lol After that I thought I should go for a drive in my semi just to see how that would work. Took the ear plugs and earphone hearing protection with me, also a decibel meter with me. Truck running highway speed averaged about 80 dba. Tried the hearing protection, and found it more irritating than anything else, could be I'm not used to it. The good part was it covered up the T. What a relief!!!! Well till I stopped and shut things down. I notice now my T in the right ear quiets down periodically for and hour or two in the evening and then flares back up later on. Could be the diet? Not sure, still trying to get my head wrapped around this and everything that goes with it. Still trying to keep a positive attitude and thinking just have to get on with my life. Getting out of the house today seemed to help, doing something positive.......life isn't over thing I guess. And again a huge THANK YOU to everyone on here and the people that set this site up, it really helps to keep one going.

 

Curious, what kind of decibel meter is it?
If it's accurate, 80dB shouldn't cause any hearing problems at all.

 

Hey Ecip, it's just one I downloaded onto my phone. I have no idea of the accuracy, probably not that good, but thought I would play with it anyway. I noticed though my T has really spiked. Been up just about all night. Just been reading about diet stuff and learned beef isn't good for T. Had that for supper last night, so if that is the case I don't know if the spike was caused by the truck or supper. My right ear was better than my left, but now they are both driving me nuts. Trying different sounds to mask, rain, white noise etc. noticed have my phone just about full volume and still doesn't mask the T.

 

Yea, those apps aren't very accurate. They give you an idea, but from research, I can comfortably say that the truck will be between 84 to 90dB.
Volvo's will have a quieter cab, as will certain Freightliners.

The quietest truck I've read about was 75dB on the highway, which is pretty damn good. Can't remember the model. I'd say that if one installs extra noise insulation on the floor, doors, and especially around the engine (hood and firewall) that you could probably cut the noise by quite a bit.

Also, cab overs (European trucks) are also much quieter than American trucks.

 

You are right. The newer trucks are a lot quieter. Mine being a 99 doesn't fall into that category. I just sold my 2011 lonestar and that was quieter and rode better than my pickup. If you are wondering why I sold the newer truck was because of the DPF on it, what a problem child. I remember a couple of my old cabovers back in the 80's were very quiet. Maybe I should have kept one of them. So are you driving now or are you one of the smart ones that give up the picture window industry. Just curious as I haven't decided yet. Thought about the hearing protection but its really not legal to run down the road with ear plugs etc. Not that you see it, I see more ear buds than anything else. I would love to just quit and retire.

 

Hi Patch.

Not sure if having ear muffs or plugs is illegal. I suppose it may depend on certain criteria in trucking that I may be unaware of, but I am legally deaf in both ears and am completely legal to drive my pick-up truck and my motorcycle with no legal issues.

I believe @Ecip has pretty much given up the driving now and is working towards a new career. He will explain more when he reads your post.

 

Ah yes, DPF's on these trucks are horrible. I drove a 2008 Kenworth with a Cummins and that thing had nothing but problems..
The 2012 Volvo I drove is fairly trouble free. It never needed a regen, and just purrs along.

As for driving, I can't do it anymore.. I was ok pretty much all summer, but about a month ago my T started spiking, went right back to how it was when it all first started, and would calm down when I was away from the noise. So, my driving career is over, I'd say.
I could probably go back to operating an excavator, they're fairly quiet. But, I'm not counting on finding a job in this economy the way it is, so I'm trying to make some money with photography, and in the mean time I'm working on becoming licensed to work as an agent or broker at an insurance company. Hopefully somewhere along the line I'll find a job. Lol.

If you can afford it, sell your truck, push a broom for a couple of years, and call it quits. If your ears are anything like mine, they'll love you for it. Haha. But, you can always try and drive and see how they react. Usually around an 8 hr day is fine, but 9, 10, 11 hrs of driving and my ears would be screaming, even with ear plugs.

 

Hi all. I am a new member here. I have developed T in the early 2015 and I only wanted to be a member here as it seems very helpful and also seem to be supporting members here. OP is right... hard times come...

 

Hey @NatalieA, welcome to tinnitus talk.

 

Hey Mike,
I used to be a driving instructor and from what I remember anything that restricts your hearing isn't allowed, at least in a commercial vehicle. Mind you that is a few years back and times change. I'll have to do some research on that. I would think that your situation would be an exception to the rule, but I know a friend of mine lost his hearing and had to give up driving truck as you have to meet certain hearing criteria. I do have a question for you though, and I'm going to ask Ecip the same. I have been reading diet can affect T, as in certain foods will make it spike. Still working on that part, but my question is, if you eat something that affects your T, how long after you eat does it take to spike and how long does it last. Course I know everyone is different, but just curious. Last night, I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone, my T was raging when we started, half hour later hung up and realized my right ear was fine, no T and my left ear was probably about 20% of the volume. Don't know why. It lasted and was sure nice till about 4 this afternoon and then spiked in both ears. Lasted about an hour and now has quieted down again. I had a couple of snacks homemade dried fruit, apples, raisins, nuts, banana, etc. About 2 hours later got the spike. Just trying to figure it out. What kind of bike of bike do you have? I have a wing and road glide. Little off topic but just curious.

 

Hey Ecip,
Good for you!!!!! I hope you get your future career on track, it can be challenging breaking into a new field, I wish you all the best. I was actually looking at the insurance agent, broker jobs today on line as a couple of places are looking for people. I worked at mullen for a few years in the office. Should have kept that job, kick my but pretty regular on that one.lol I certainly wouldn't mind going back to an office environment. I have to ask what got you into the photography? What kind of P do you do?
Going back to the truck, I am seriously thinking about giving it up. Can't retire, still need to work, but could take a job as a greeter as Walmart I suppose.lol I have some more test coming up and just waiting to see what happens with that in the next 10 days or so. In the mean time checking out jobs and waiting to see what is going to happen. I posted a reply to Mike above and going to ask you the same question as you have more experience with this T than me. Give it a read if you already haven't and same me the sweating of typing it out again. Thanks

 

Hi NatalieA,
Welcome!!! I am sure you will enjoy the kindness and support on this site, the folks are truly an inspiration, even the posts that aren't always positive to read in the suffering aspect, but are still good to see and know you aren't alone. It has been a true gift for me.

 

Hello again Patch.

I don't spike often but when I do it seems to be after eating salty foods and snacks. This usually only lasts about an hour and then back to normal for me at least.

I believe you may be correct with hearing and holding a license to drive a semi. However I am positive, at least in Canada, anyone who can see and pass a drivers written and road test can hold a license for class G or M. I was working towards obtaining my pilots license but that is now a no go. Hearing well is required in holding this license as communications with ground towers etc are a large part of flying. I sure would be disappointed if I lost my other driving privileges. I never applied for any exemption and know 4 other completely deaf drivers in my same shoes that are excellent drivers and never needed to apply for any exemption or special clause. When you hold a trucking license, you must undergo a yearly physical no? This is not required for normal vehicle licensing.

My ride is a 2015 Honda Shadow Aero. Just your typical easy to manage cruiser and has never let me down so far. Still riding daily here in southern Ontario as the weather is very warm at the moment. Won't be much longer and it will be stored for a few months. So sad!! lol. Love to ride!

 

Hey Mike, thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what causes my spikes, whether it's food or not. Today had snack of the dried fruit but didn't spike till about 2 hours later and like you maybe an hour, settled back down now. So don't know how long after you eat the spike hits.

Not being able to do things you have your heart set on would be really hard to take. I know when I got out of school I wanted to join the air force and fly fighter. Didn't happen........couldn't fly wearing glasses. I did mention they could get me a prescription canopy.........but they did offer to let me fly transport. I was ticked let me tell you.........should have taken it could have a decent pension now, and maybe flying multi engine commercial. Oh well as the saying goes.......young and dumb!! I feel for you for sure.

Shadow is a nice ride, and being water cooled, shaft drive will last forever. I just did brakes, bearings, pulled the shaft and final drive on my wing and serviced it up, also new tires. Took it apart over a year ago and had it swept into the corner of the garage. I almost forgot how everything went back together. Good bike though, have 160,000 km on it and runs like new. I took my Harley out for about a 5 mile ride this year...........wouldn't want to mile things out.lol
Damn trucking sure interferes with the leisure time.

 

Funny stuff on the Harley. Good chuckle.

Yes life sure can get in the way of leisure and love. Hope you can figure out your next steps with employment and trucking. I remember an old girlfriend awhile back. Her dad was a driver, long haul, and worked under the Teamsters union. That guy was tough as nails and nice a ever. Typical Irishman!

I do still get up in small aircraft once in awhile. A couple of close friends have private licenses and aircraft. I still am able to control the flight for awhile as long as they are in the seat beside me. I never intended on making flying a career, just a leisure. Always enjoyed every aspect of air travel. I had actually considered becoming an Air Crash Investigator at one point but was too busy at my own profession at the time.

Yes the shadow is pretty much care free and easy to maintain. I have just over 30,000 km on it now and on the second set of rubber. I changed the tires more for the traction I prefer and the ride comfort. It gets a small overhaul during storage every winter. Typical tear down of the fuel and oil systems and draining of the brake lines etc. Full lube on all working components.

Best wishes on your hunt for the triggers with these spikes you are experiencing. Really is hard to say what causes them. You know yourself better than anyone else. I am sure in time you will get to the bottom of this and can adjust diet etc to control it.

All the best Patch! Ride On!

 

@Patch Whats new with ya, still hitting the highway or what? Hire a driver and let him rip around in it lol.

 

Hey Ecip,
No just been working around home here a bit and back and forth to the ent. Getting hearing aids shortly, not sure if I am going to like that. Looking at a newer truck, haven't decided yet. How about you, how is the photography business going and how is your course going? Is your T settling down being off the road? Hope it is. Just a quick note anyway, got a sledge hammer here, going to give myself a tap behind the ear to get some sleep.