How Is It Even Possible to Avoid Loud Noise?

One of the first recommendations of managing tinnitus seems to be "cut out all loud noise." Great. But an unrealistic expectation. What are you guys doing that I am not that makes you cut out all loud noise? Even if I never left where I live, an apartment because houses are expensive, then for example...we have the windows down, enjoying the autumn air and then suddenly an ambulance and two firetrucks show up to a neighboring building.

I honestly don't know what to do with this recommendation. People talk about as if they have cut all these things out. Great. Tell me how. It is a complete mystery to me and a frustrating one at that.

 

It's nearly impossible in modern society.

 

If you can't move to a quieter neighbourhood, then you could still wear ear plugs or/and ear muggs whenever a window is open.

Don't attend sporting events, concerts, fireworks shows. Wear ear plugs or even ear muffs in your car (there is a chance of being hurt when a truck or a motorcycle accelerates). Carry ear muffs with you whenever you go (in case a fire alarm goes off). Remove the batteries from the fire alarm at your home.

Wear ear plugs whenever you are outside of your home (unless you are at a place where, based on your past experience, there is a high chance that it will be quiet). Don't use a vacuum cleaner or a blender.

After a bad experience in the parking lot of a supermarket (their metal carts can be Loud, especially when a set of those carts is being moved), I began wearing ear muffs over ear plugs whenever I have to walk through that parking lot.

Just play it by ear and try to learn from your past mistakes (once something gives you a spike, begin protecting your ears there). If a door slams and gives you a spike, begin using door stoppers (or make sure all doors are closed, before opening a window that might cause a draft that might cause the door to slam).

 

That seems a little excessive to me unless you have severe hyperacusis.

 

Walk with earmuffs In hands ready to wear so that emergency vehicles siren noise can be reduced
Kind of depends where you live , subway tend to be noisy

 

After I began (about a month after onset) being serious about protecting my ears, I began experiencing some improvement. A lot of it was undone when I failed to protect my ear, and pressed a loud phone to my bad ear (something that would never harm a healthy person, but that had changed my hiss to a high pitch tone). Of course it is possible that it was a coincidence that I began improving after I started to protect my ears from moderate noises - I might have improved even if I were not to adopt that policy. I believe that had I not been protecting my ears, I would have experienced more acoustic traumas from seemingly innocent things (innocent like "a loud phone"), and that would have made my T harder to ignore.

 

Just this Friday I had muffs in my bag, and realized that I was about to be exposed to a loud noise. I didn't have time to get the muffs out in time. If I were to have my muffs in my hand, I would have had enough time...

 

How do the carts bother you and not the screaming kids and beeps of the cash registers inside the store?

Also, isn't it a really bad safety hazard to disable your fire alarm? You probably live in a house but I live in an apartment.

 

I believe a fire alarm will likely give one a permanent tinnitus spike that can be in a "debilitating" territory. There are few things I am not willing to do, in order to avoid having to commit suicide as a result of a loud debilitating T.

You are right - those beeps are brutal if you are not wearing any protection. I wear ear plugs at the supermarket, and the beeps are not That disturbing.

 

Well, I've considered it but ya know more people live here than just me and I don't want to get in trouble.

Oh yeah, by the way, Bill, how do you get up in the morning. Don't you have some kind of alarm clock or similar thing to get you up?

 

I have an alarm on my computer (it is a "soft tap" like sound) that tells me when to Go to bed. When I go to bed at the same time every evening, I am able to wake up at the same time. I don't use an alarm clock.

 

Hi @Red

You are new to tinnitus and I understand your concerns about loud noise, and you might have hyperacusis too? Your recommendation to "cut out all loud noise" isn't necessary and can often do more harm than good. Try and seek treatment for your tinnitus and hyperacusis, if it is present by seeing a Hearing Therapist. You can also help yourself. Please click on the links below and read my posts on tinnitus. Please read the post below that I wrote when replying to another forum member.

All the best
Michael

Flamingo1 said:
I've noticed that when sound levels are 80-85dB and I've got my westone 27dB filtered musicians ear plugs in, I suffer no adverse effects. I was at music recital in a bar /club and amusement park dance performances when this happened. Am I pushing my luck?

If you are using your Westone 27db filtered earplugs to suppress daily sounds of 80-85db in an outside environment (open air) and notice no adverse effects then you are not helping yourself. You are lowering the loudness threshold of your auditory system and will make it more sensitive to sound. I say again if this is what you are going? Because it signifies to me that you are in the habituation process which is a good thing.

The closed environment that you were in, the bar/club and the sound levels were 80-85 db and you noticed no ill effects while wearing your earplugs, I don’t think it would have made much difference if you weren’t wearing them. The reason being the sounds would have been bouncing off the ceiling, floor and the walls. Also the people would have been making sounds/noise etc. In this instance these external sounds would have been transferred to your inner ear by bone conduction. This is when sound passes through your skull. No earplugs in the world can stop sound passing through the skull.

This is the reason some people experience spikes in their tinnitus when wearing earplugs or moulded plugs of good quality at clubs, raves etc and wonder why? It is because the external sounds and the acoustic environment are too loud and sound is transferred to the inner ear by bone conduction. In my post: Hyperacusis, as I see it. I mentioned going to an arcade where the music levels were 100 decibels. Although I had my earplugs with me in case I felt uncomfortable I didn’t use them and stayed there for 30minutes and left. I suffered no affects of hyperacusis or sensitivity and the next day my tinnitus was completely silent.

I rarely use earplugs and certainly not to suppress normal everyday sounds on the street no matter how loud. It is prudent to carry earplugs on one’s person just in case but unfortunately, some people in this forum have become so paranoid about sound, it has caused a lot of stress and anxiety. It has reached a point where they are afraid of hearing: the closing of a door, a fire alarm or car alarm. Police or ambulance siren that is way off in the distance. This fear has brought nothing but harm in my opinion and has reinforced negative thinking and the belief that earplugs are to be used everywhere they go. It has resulted in them being miserable and not enjoying life the way they should.

The fact that you have been out and enjoying yourself and noticed no adverse affects is splendid and I hope you continue on to do this. By all means have your earplugs with you but try not to think that it’s absolutely necessary to be always wearing them at these venues. My suggestion is to experiment as I did. I believe your auditory system is repairing itself. Try not to slow this process down by the overuse of earplugs especially suppressing normal every day sounds. I don’t think you are pushing your luck, just carry on as you are doing and you’ll be just fine. I suggest you experiment using lower specification earplugs of 18db or more, as this allows your auditory system to adjust to higher sound levels.

Even though this is good news for you. I advise that you never to be tempted to use headphones even at low volume, because your tinnitus was caused by acoustic trauma.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Worst for me are the SO HIGH-PITCHED rasping brakes from cars !

Screaming kids also can be very high-pitched !

It depends on days, sometimes I feel I need to put my earplugs on, and sometimes not... Even though I am still disturbed by the city noise...

 

It seems impossible indeed !

Especially if you live into a City, even not a big one, it is loud enough to be quite disturbed by the noise...

But per example, if you are at your home, you can easily have your earmuffs close to you all the time ! And once you hear ambulance and firetrucks you can put them...

And when you outside, you can put some earplugs on if the noise is too loud...

 

I think it is to a large extent in dense urban areas, but a lot less so in the country.

I agree, and also think that a lot of stuff getting discussed here is very much getting into questions of autonomy and control. However, the psychology of tinnitus isn't "head stuff"; at least for me, tinnitus and all other conscious experience is psychology, and psychology is a physical reality based on how synapses fire and wire. So, it's tricky... but while I think that what I'd describe as phonophobia is a lot less likely to be acutely damaging than going crazy with noise exposure, I also strongly believe that maladaptive thinking over a long period of time is not without its costs.

All that said, here's what works for me:
I live in the country, so no significant planes/sirens/etc. When I lived in the city, I would plug my ears when ambulances went right by me, but I only used earplugs outside if I was going to be walking right next to the highway. I never worried about noise from open windows; unless you're right by the street at street level it never seemed that loud.

I use Dubs 12db filters when driving for more than 20-30 minutes, mainly to cut out some of the engine/tire drone so that I can listen to music or podcasts without feeling like my ears are getting blasted. I also use them if I'm doing something like playing in a game tournament where there are lots of people in a tight indoor space. Basically, I try to use dubs any time noise is at a level where my hearing will seem "fuzzy" afterwards if I don't.

I use earplugs when I am vacuuming, operating cord-operated or pneumatic power tools, riding a motorcycle any distance, and while firing weapons. As a general rule I don't shoot anything larger than .22cal anymore. (I'll probably get some silencers in 9mm and 12g over the next couple years, but that stuff is expensive and I just bought a house -- for now I will live with hunting small game @ .22cal, and trying to get decent with a compound bow for bigger stuff).

I'll probably use dubs filters while splitting wood, but I want to actually check that out with a db meter to see if it's even a concern.

 

For example today, just 1 hour ago I went to see a colleague at her office and she was in the conference room just next. She was tidying up some tables and chairs (already loud) but just when I came into the conference room to see if she needed help, the projector blackboard just got up really fast and it was VERY loud !

I just had bad luck with this noise which gives me worries now because it was very strong deep into my ears !

Bad luck in my life !