Help! A Balloon Popped Right Next to My Ear

4 days ago on June 26, a friend popped a balloon right next to my left ear(almost touching my ear).

After that my left ear start ringing really loud and for 1-2 hours I can barely hear people talk to me with that ear.

The second day it got a better, I can hear people talking to me, but not as loud and clear as my perfectly fine right ear, and it still rings constantly.

As now, my ear still constantly rings. The sound I can hear from my left ear is noticeably quieter than my right ear. And the audio quality of my left ear is like two dollars earbuds, can't hear many details in songs. It's ringing with white noise, and mumble, and it's like I'm on a plane or my ear got in water. And when people are talking very loud next to me, the sound starts to breaking like as you turn volumes too high on a very cheap and old speaker.

What should I do? Is this normal for healing from a loud bang next to your ear?

It's been four days, should I give it more time to heal?

Or should I be worried and go to the doctor (I'm uninsured and it's very expensive to go to the doctor).

 

Some people mentioned the use of prednisone after acoustic trauma.
There's a chance that you will recover fully, but it can take a very long time.
I think @Alue has a similar story.

 

Mine was a high pressure air tank, but balloons right next to your ear can be bad too. I would get some prednisone ASAP if you're going to. The window of opportunity for prednisone to be beneficial is short and it's really a hit or miss if it will help anyway. Unfortunately that's about all you can do in the short term. The rest is just a waiting game to see if it gets better or not...

Did your friend intentionally do it, or was it an accident?

 

He tried to prank me and the prank was pop a balloon next to my ear. And by the way what is prednisone? what does it do to our situation? Is it a fairly common medicine to take and get?

 

I am so sorry that happened to you. The main advice that I can give you now is that most probably you will be fine. The main thing is that now you need to realize that you have had some MAJOR damage to your ear. So going forward you need to protect your ears VERY WELL. Because your ear has a certain threshold up to where it will deal with damage to your ears and then it can't adjust anymore and you will have permanent tinnitus. Every time you get ringing, it means your ear has been a little damaged, and the threshold has shifted a bit more to you getting there. I will recommend you do a few things:

1: unfortunately from now on you will have to stay away from any and all inner-ear headphones (such as apple earbuds). Over ears are slightly better, bug only at VERY LOW volume (if you can tolerate it).
2: beware of clubs and concerts. They are a big cause of tinnitus, so be careful. Never go without proper ear protection and stand as far away from the speakers as possible. Loud bars and airplanes can also reach up to 110db. So use some ear protection in those places too. Be careful with dentist ultrasonic cleanings (very high pitched).
3: be carful of ototoxic medicines. These is a certain range of medicines that cause inner-ear damage and could increase your tinnitus. Ask the doctor, but also do your own research. If you feel your tinnitus is getting worse over a few days of using a medication, it probably is causing a reaction and you should contact your doctor.
4: rest, rest and more rest. Your auditory system needs all the rest if can get. I would advice you to take it very easy for the next month or two.

 

Acoustic trauma causes free radicals (damaging molecules) to be produced in the ear for up to 10 days afterwards. Get some N-acetylysteine and lipoic acid (powerful antioxidants that quench free radicals) and take a whole bunch of it throughout the day for a week. They can be purchased at a supermarket or health store.

 

Oh, and go to the doctor and get a course of prednisone. It's a strong anti-inflammatory medication that is routinely used. Don't tell him it was a balloon. Say it was a very loud rock concert.

 

Prednisone is an anti inflammatory steroid. It's a fairly common medication. It's the only thing that may help post trauma. But even that is a long shot, it works for some people and not for others.

 

Why do I tell the doctor it's a loud rock concert instead of say it's a balloon?

 

I believe ENTs call this "ear fullness"/"aural fullness"/"full ear sensation".

It is difficult to get your doctor to prescribe prednisone.

You may also search this forum for "HBOT" - consider doing that treatment. Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
Those soldiers had HBOT treatments...

It will most likely not be permanent. If you are unlucky and it is permanent, the sound you will most likely end up with will probably be quieter and have a different pitch than what you have now.

Ear fullness will likely last 2-3 months and will then go away.

 

So it most likely be my ear is still trying to heal itself? Is the chance of it's permanent really low? Honestly, I'm pretty scared. Because all the things I've seen online about balloon popping next to ear incidents, they all only have the question and answers, but the author never post anything how they did afterward. And about the prednisone, are these medicine available in common pharmacy stores? Like walgreen, cvs etc.

 

Tinnitus is caused by problems with your inner ear AND problems with the neurons in your brain. Your body will be trying to heal itself. Unfortunately, it is normal for this healing to take Months. What this means is that you will not be able to notice any progress on a daily or weekly basis. If you feel better 1 or 2 months from now, than that would be a great sign. Many people seem to get substantially better around the four-month mark. Some people recover after 6 months, 1 year, or even within 2 years. Ears take forever to heal. So I guess the good news is that you will most likely eventually get better. The bad news is that it will take time, and at times it will be difficult for you to believe that this nightmare will ever end.

Hopefully you will feel a little better after you read that Tinnitus Recovery Stats thread
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
If those people had eventually recovered after an acoustic trauma (terrorist bomb explosion) that involved their ear drum being damaged, surely people like us also have a good chance of recovery.

Get a sound machine like
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA/ or even
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-S-5000-Deluxe-Therapy/dp/B018KUVEOM/
to help you sleep.

You could also get an app to do the same, or find some YouTube video with nature sounds. These will give you something else besides T to listen to as you are trying to fall asleep.

When I was in this acute stage, I took amitriptyline (10 mg) as a sleeping aid (later I started taking 0.75 of a tablet). It is non-addictive, and one doesn't feel drowsy in the morning.

If you read this forum, you will see countless stories of people getting secondary traumas. Our ears have been compromised. The noise that a healthy person is unlikely to even notice can result in a horrific temporary spike that lasts over a week, or even a permanent spike.

So I advise that you begin protecting your ears. Don't go to loud bars, anywhere where live music is being played.

Personally (many agree with me, while many don't agree with this advice), I stay away even from things like the vacuum cleaner, blender, and lawn mower. After a three day spike following being near a slamming door, I wear ear protection whenever I am outside of my home. Earplugs protect me from trucks and motorcycles accelerating, etc. If you hear your neighbour using power tools, you may want to get as far from this source of noise as you can.

By ear protection, I mean earplugs
https://www.amazon.com/3M-1100-Foam-Plugs-200-Pair/dp/B008MVYL7C/
Peltor ear muffs
https://www.amazon.com/PELTOR-Ear-Muff-Headband-X5A/dp/B00BBCTQK6/
and
Bose noise cancelling headphones.

I wear Peltor earmuffs when I drive.

I plan to protect my ears for about a year following my acoustic trauma. It seems to me that this is the only thing I can do to help my body heal.

You may also want to start taking Magnesium and vitamin B supplements (search this site for information of exactly why it is recommended that one takes this).

Now you know all I know about this horrible condition and how to deal with it...

 

After reading a horror story on this site, I am terrified of being present when a fire alarm is activated. So I carry my Peltor muffs with me everywhere I go. I plan to be wearing them during thunderstorm (see another horror story on this site).

 

The worst thing you can do when you discover that you have tinnitus, is to google it.

 

Because he won't believe you had an acoustic trauma if you talk about a balloon,

But you did have a trauma and you need to see your GP really quickly now.

Prednisone is not a candy, you need to see a doctor to get it.

The treatment only lasts 4 or 5 days but it's a high dose : if your weight is 70kg (sorry I talk in kilograms), you'll take 70mg once a day.

You need to try this treatment and you need it right now, there's no question about it. Your choice.

 

I saw your cause has balloon in it. Did the samething happen to you?

 

Not relevant, every situation is different.

 

@Heng1,
I have just read your story and I'm sure your full of anxiety also that sadly comes along with it at the beginning.
As others have mentioned Prednisalone can help some people in the early days.
I hope after awhile your tinnitus calms down.
Keep relaxing music on low around you and have your hearing checked and ears checked too!
I hope your friend does not pop balloons by anyone else as now can see what he's caused you from a silly prank.
We are here around the clock to support you love glynis.

 

Yes, that is what the scientific papers indicate.

 

Update: I went to the a physician today( because of it's Fourth of July can't go to a specialist) , that doctor took look at my ear, said it looks fine just like my right ear. The eardrum fine, no hole or anything. But I do feel the ringing, ear fullness , and quieter than my right ear. Anyone ever encountered this kind situation? Did the loud bang only messed up my inner ear without leaving a mark on my eardrums? Is that possible?

 

Yes, that's what most acoustic traumas are about. Eardrums are fine, inner ear is not.

Always sad to see that some doctors still don't get that.

 

It's Fourth of July, so every specialist I can see are on vacation, won't be back until Wednesday. Is that too late? Are acoustic traumas reversible at all? What's the possibility of it can go back to normal?

 

I don't know, steroids are a long shot anyway. Generally hearing damage is not reversible, but that does not mean your symptoms will stay the same. I know what you mean, my hearing was damaged just before New Years and everyone was off for the holidays.

It was someone else's stupidity that damaged my hearing as well.

 

Yes, unfortunately.

 

I just went to an ENT doctor today. I did a hearing test, the doctor said my hearing is still within the normal range. When doing the test, I can hear the beep but noticeably quieter than my right ear. And on the diagram, looks like I got a hard time to hear the higher frequencies. Anyway, the doctor said my left ear's hearing is still within the normal range, he won't give me any medicines or steroids. Hopefully, it's just my hearing system is just trying to heal itself. I asked will the decrease in sound in my left ear will go back to normal. But he said hopefully it's just temporarily, but there's no way to know if it's permanent.