I Made a Stupid Mistake by Going Into a Bar without Earplugs — Tinnitus Now Worse

It's been over 3 years since I got tinnitus & hyperacusis. It's been a long fight and for the last 6 months I have barely even noticed my tinnitus or hyperacusis anymore, they were almost gone. I was happy.

Then last weekend my friends asked me out for a night. I thought "Oh well. It's been years since I've been out with my friends. And my ears feel like they used to before the accident! I can be there for an hour".

Oh how wrong I was. 1 hour inside the bar and now I've got much louder tinnitus again. Gladly, my hyperacusis did not get worse, but I can hear my tinnitus more clearly again. Can't honestly remember the last time tinnitus even bothered my life.

I am so mad at myself. And also scared a bit. I've had similar long lasting spikes before, but of course I worry that it will stay.

Why I didn't use earplugs? Well, I guess I wanted to seem "normal". And that was a stupid mistake. In the future, I really cannot afford to think what people think about me using earplugs in a bar. Probably I don't ever go into a bar - even with earplugs.

I've been so careful with my ears during these years. Avoided loud places, used ear-protection when using power tools, vacuuming etc. and I was so happy. I was so happy I've survived this condition and it's been slowly improving. It's the best feeling on earth when you finally hear crickets again during the summer.

You notice that "hey, that sound that used to hurt doesn't hurt my ear anymore!" or "Wow, I just had a moment of silence". Those are amazing things when you experience them. You feel hopeful.

Then I do one stupid mistake and beat myself about it. Well, I can only hope it gets better.

Be careful people.

 

Don’t beat yourself up. What’s done is done. I might have been screwing myself this whole time because, since my hearing’s fine and I didn’t have any acoustic trauma, I haven’t been protecting my ears at all. Fireworks, bars, festivals, nothing. Now I’m realizing that probably has been very bad for my situation. But we are here now. Just have to be more careful going forward. From what I’ve seen online and in all the groups- spikes go away. Some last a few days or a few weeks but they mostly go away.

 

Hi Strife,

I am sorry to hear about the increase in your tinnitus and understand the difficulties that you are going through at the moment. Try not to feel too disheartened for making an error in judgement, as you weren't to know of the potential risks involved, since your tinnitus reduced to such a low level your brain was able to dismiss it for most of the time. This happens quite a lot to people that have successfully habituated to noise induced tinnitus for over a year, then at some point notice a resurgence of the tinnitus.

In many instances the increase in tinnitus is caused by the person being subjected to further loud noise, usually more than once which has irritated the auditory system. Unfortunately, the affected individual is usually unaware they are putting themselves at risk. The wearing of earplugs is no guarantee they won't be adversely affected. If external sound is loud enough, it will pass through the head and transfer to the inner ear by bone conduction which can cause irritation and spike the tinnitus. Sometimes the spike will reduce, or it can increase the tinnitus for quite some time.

Anyone that has habituated to noise induced tinnitus, I suggest they don't listen to audio through headphones, earbuds or headsets even at low volume, as there's the risk of making the tinnitus worse. This may not happen immediately but each time headphones are used, they are putting themselves at risk.

Please click on the link below and read my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

All the best,
Michael

Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum