I Just Don't Get It — Why Some People Get Tinnitus and Others Don't

Over the past couple days at school, I caught a glimpse of several people with their music up all the way.

In America, max volume is 105 decibels. What amazes me is how they can listen to music at this level for who knows how long, be in marching band without earplugs, and go to lots of concerts and not get tinnitus and hyperacusis.

My sister even has hearing loss, and she listens to music/podcasts at 90-95 percent volume and goes to concerts without earplugs, and she doesn’t have tinnitus either.

I almost always stayed at 70 percent volume or below. I often listened to music through Spotify or Pandora, which have reduced sound levels compared to Apple Music. Even after listening for 2 hours at a time, I never had even the slightest ringing or muffled hearing.

After my first concert, all heck broke loose.

The big question is, how can I have all these problems, while my noise exposed peers don’t. I am, however, starting to wonder if my own anxiety caused me to be more susceptible.

 

not everyone gets T when they have hearing loss. There are these "brakes" in the human brain that are meant to stop T when someone has hearing loss, but in many of us , those brake are broken. Thats why every senior citizen doesn't have T from age related hearing loss. So your peers probably have hearing loss, but their "brakes" are working and dont have T.

 

Same here.

Some people's ears could just be more susceptible to damage or less resilient. Possibly the maladaptive neuroplastic changes that can occur following damage are more pronounced or more prone to stay. These things might be worsened by anxiety and stress, as you suggest.

 

Took me around 50+ concerts and many nights in clubs to get a mild - moderate tinnitus. I guess my ears did well to withstand that much..

 

Now did you wear protection during these exposures? And how far were you from the stage? I was a clueless teenager and just went into the mosh pit of a metal concert, no earplugs or anything. Never even ocurred to me. I just figured that everyone else was doing it so must be fine.

I won those tickets on the radio, too. What a prize!

 

There's a video called "Dr. Robert Aaron Levine's - Tinnitus Tutorial" on youtube which @Contrast and other users have posted on here before, it presents a hypothesis as to why some people develop tinnitus and others don't.

From the video: GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain and spinal cord. Making GABA more powerful can suppress hyperactive fusiform cells and thus reduce tinnitus. Benzodiazepines have been known to reduce tinnitus by enhancing GABA.

"Most [tinnitus] cases are associated with hearing loss caused by the aging process or noise exposure. Because exposure to loud recreational sound is common among youthful populations, young persons are at increasing risk. Head or neck injuries can also trigger the development of tinnitus, as altered somatosensory input can affect auditory pathways and lead to tinnitus or modulate its intensity. Emotional and attentional state may play a role in tinnitus development and maintenance via top-down mechanisms. Thus, military in combat are particularly at risk due to combined hearing loss, somatosensory system disturbances and emotional stress. Neuroscience research has identified neural changes related to tinnitus that commence at the cochlear nucleus and extend to the auditory cortex and brain regions beyond. Maladaptive neural plasticity appears to underlie these neural changes, as it results in increased spontaneous firing rates and synchrony among neurons in central auditory structures that may generate the phantom percept." - Maladaptive plasticity in tinnitus-triggers, mechanisms and treatment

 

The only times I wore ear plugs was when I already had this tinnitus. I think I have been to around three gigs since tinnitus.

Before that I didn't know what tinnitus was fully...

I have been to so many shows, some in seats away from speakers, many standing ones where I was nearish the speaker, some nearer the middle/back.

Not sure also why only my right ear has been affected

You got tinnitus at your first gig? That's rough man

 

The chart you posted shows recommendations based on the CDC's NIOSH guidelines. Unfortunately, they do not protect everyone and do not take into account temporary threshold shifts (TTS), which can cause hidden hearing loss.

https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2016/02/08/noise/

"The NIOSH REL is not designed to protect all workers from all hearing damage. When setting this limit, NIOSH acknowledged that approximately 8% of workers could still develop hearing loss."

 

Yes. The only time I remember hearing ringing before that was once when I was young. A friend and I lit off a firecracker too close. It faded quickly and I didn't think of it again.

 

Ditto (club tho but same difference)