I'm back.

So I took a break from TT for awhile since I did feel like I was obsessing over what is going on with me (T increase and onset of H). I was struggling with H but in the past couple weeks I felt like I was getting this under control and T had settled down to almost baseline finally.

Then yesterday I had a very very noisey day. I didn't go to a concert or a movie but my ears sure feel like I did and I am extremely upset and nervous again.

It started with a 3 hour drive, which was noisey since it was very won't outside and the car rattled. I wore earplugs most of the way but still my T was screaming. Then upon destination I walked into a print shop to pick up an order and they had the door to their actually shop open with an extremely loud compressor. I put my plugs in and patiently waited. At this point my H kicked in and my whole right side was in pain. We then had to make a few errands to different stores, all noisey. I kept my plugs in for most of it. After that I had to go to dinner, restaurant was loud. Lastly staying the night at a friends house that have 2 loud dogs barking close to my ear. It was about 12 hours of noise. Not consistent but still enough to spike T and aggravate H and leave me in pain.

I am so scared about what damage has been done from this and idk if this is a new increase in T now. We also have a 3 hour ride back home again today.

 

I hardly think you have done any damage to the nerves in the inner ear I think its just the hyperacousis doing tricks. Sometimes we all have bad days and there is no explanation. however I seriously doubt any of the noise you were exposed to was too loud, esp. since you wore plugs. Just try to get a good night sleep and relax
Btw do you still go to school + work?

 

@Stina I only was able to sleep 4-5 hours due to these dogs running around barking and my T and anxiety, so I'm hoping tonight when I get back home I will sleep more!

And yes I have been going to school and work still, I do use my earplug in class from time to time, but otherwise have been handling it as best as I can.

 

@demi this kind of exposure can't cause permanent damages. So don't worry, in few time it will calm down, @Karen is right. Good luck, keep us informed!

 

@demi little sleep can sure make it seem louder, or actually temporarily make it louder. Therefore dont worry.
Im glad you still go to school and work though, its important

 

You need to give cold laser therapy, also known as low level laser therapy, some thought. It will probably not make your tinnitus go away (at least only slightly), but it will improve your hearing and your hyperacusis will get better. You will become more "resistant" to noise, too (ie. being exposed to noise will not result in a spike to the same degree).

EDIT:

I should add that you need to do so in a "clinical setting". Don't mess about with low level lasers at home (even though these can be purchased).

 

Like everyone else i think you will be just fine and will settle within a few days. Everything you explained is not enough to cause damage even though the H might feel like it at times thats why its such a bitch but its playin tricks with your ears and making you think you did make them worse but you didnt. Once you get good sleep and calm your nerves you should be fine again

 

@demi, I agree with other posters that exposure to the sounds you heard caused no damage to your ears. But it is very important for you to be evaluated by an experienced professional who has treated patients with tinnitus, anxiety about sound, and hyperacusis.

It would be a good idea to talk to the doctor about the anxiety you feel around sound and how exposure sometimes results in your feeling very upset and nervous, as well as in physical pain. You need to be properly evaluated and diagnosed. You need a strategy.

@attheedgeofscience, the use of low level laser in a clinical setting will not improve a person’s hearing, lower their tinnitus, improve decreased sound tolerance, or make a person’s auditory system more resistant to sound. For information on whether LLLT can help tinnitus sufferers, please see this post.

http://goo.gl/9hXi4i

Here is something I wrote to you a few days ago about ear plugs. I hope it is informative.

http://goo.gl/qp2FUs

here2help

 

Thanks...?

And here is something I posted a little while ago:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/my-introduction.1862/#post-39035

which proves that LLLT does improve hearing loss. Unlike most members of this forum, I document my "stuff" even though I don't have to (I am after all a patient, not a scientist/doctor). I don't need to read yet another article about LLLT studies that were designed to fail because they deliberately use sub-therapeutic dosages for short periods of time. I am well aware that the hearing aid companies are eager to dismiss the usefulness of lasers. But hearing aid companies will eventually suffer the same fate as Kodak did when digital cameras became the standard-of-choice...

A few pictures to dismiss some of the claims about lasers not being able to reach the inner ear:

80mW laser placed behind the bone of my middle finger (daylight)



80mW laser placed behind the bone of my middle finger (dark)



80mW laser placed inside my ear, viewed from behind the head, right (dark)



The pictures "speak for themselves".

I find it "interesting" that certain members of this board always seem to feel a need to attack LLLT therapy. Just because someone posts something useful about eg. TRT does not automatically mean that I or others start criticizing it.

I know a lot of people follow my posts. So just in case anyone should be in doubt - I have only one agenda: scientific truth and a relentless drive to cure tinnitus (and so far, I am not doing too bad). I do not know when the cure will be here, but I do know that most doctors are more of an obstacle than a catalyst for "the cure". If only people knew the amount of perseverance, "red-tape", time, and money I spend on my "medical experiments".

 

@Dr. Nagler if I can ask what you think about this all?

After another 3 hour loud car trip home, I slept for 9 hours but still my T has not settled back down and am still experiencing some pain due to H. It feels like my tolerance levels are also lower than before.

 

@demi you were so careful that I am 99,9% sure that further damage was not caused. Sometimess it take a few days to calm down. Im sure eventually it will.

 

@Stina I just am so scared that I made things worse even though I tried all that I could. I just keep thinking that maybe I shouldn't have gone to the store and restaurant since my ears were already taking a beating.

 

Its not your fault You cant wear plugs all the time because of the H anyway. Give it some time.

 

Demi, you should be alright. I agree with others that this kind of noise exposure with ear plug protection shouldn't cause damage. It is the anxiety with the increased T and the lack of sleep and the tiredness of the trip that can cause T to ring like mad. I had 2 days of fishing and just got back with my priced catch (reported in Positivity thread), and my T is absolutely screaming now with the tiredness and the out of sleep on the trip. But T doesn't scare me anymore, and we have to live & enjoy our lives regardless of T, high or low. I used to be anxious about T and would tip -toe what I did around it with ear plugs too. But now I just don't care. I hope some day you too will get to the stage to say 'the heck with it'. Dr. Nagler's motto 'I just don't care' is my adopted motto now. I also learned from Rob x 2 to not give T any time and fire regardless. It can throw me some flowers (like it is screaming right now) to get my attention, but I will turn away & the heck with it. I will go out & enjoy the glorious time of spring. That is the only way for me to win freedom back from T tyranny by giving it zero value. Take care and relax. Give it time. It will go back to baseline.

 

Hi @attheedgeofscience -

In another thread you recently wrote:

"I think the work done by the emergency services is very impressive. I also think surgeons and the advances in the field of surgery is impressive. Surgeons tend to be what I call no-nonsense doctors. They are down-to-earth, pragmatic, and speak clearly - providing essentially 'yes or no' answers. I like that."

Excellent. So let me preface my comments by telling you that I am a surgeon, OK? More specifically, I am a double board-certified surgeon, recertified, re-re-certified, and as of last year re-re-recertified. Moreover, I used to be chief of general surgery in one of the largest hospitals in the southeastern US and routinely took my call in its emergency room, which was a major trauma center. So, if anybody on this board meets your description of a no-nonsense doctor, who is down-to-earth and pragmatic, one who speaks clearly and provides essentially 'yes or no answers,' it would be I.

And here's the thing, my friend. Two basic indisputable facts:

(1) Either LLLT works for tinnitus or it doesn't.

and

(2) Nothing that anybody on this board can say about LLLT - pro or con - will change that fact.

So why are you getting so upset about it?

Stephen Nagler

 

Hi @demi -

I am sorry, but I do not know enough about you or about your tinnitus to be able to responsibly address your concerns. My suggestion would be for you to arrange to undergo a thorough evaluation by a hearing healthcare professional who is knowledgeable and experienced in the treatment of individuals with intrusive tinnitus and hyperacusis. Then, based upon that evaluation, the clinician should be able to provide you with some guidance.

I do know that trying to somehow "figure out" your tinnitus is pretty much guaranteed to be an exercise in futility.

I wish I could be more helpful.

Best regards -

Stephen Nagler

 

I love your posts.. Glad your positive in finding a cure and that you have went the lengths in attemting to help yourself with T and ofcorse sharing all your experiences with everyone

 

Day one home was yesterday, I am going on day two and still feeling the pain and T being way louder than usual.

 

Sorry to hear that, try to do something you enjoy doing. i do hope it improves soon - i have a feeling it will

 

@Emil Mikalsen offers very good advice above. An excellent philosophy.

@demi, let me suggest another way to look at it.

Instead of doing something you enjoy doing, focus on doing something for somebody less fortunate than you - whether or not you enjoy it. Put in a few hours at a soup kitchen or a battered women's shelter. Get a few friends together and instead of giving a homeless person a couple of dollars, actually take him or her out for a bite of lunch. Drive for Meals on Wheels. Something like that. Commit to spending just a few hours helping somebody less fortunate than you, and keep that commitment.

Then, if for some reason your tinnitus doesn't improve within a day - or two - or three, you will have made a difference in the life of somebody less fortunate than yourself ... and in so doing, you will have made a difference in your own life as well.

If you want to stop viewing the world through the prism of your tinnitus, then take a look and my sig line at the bottom of this post. And own it!

All the best -

Stephen Nagler

 

Hi Mr. Nagler,

I did exactly what you advised, but only one time due the situation.
I recently have been to Las Vegas, where I was talking for 2 hours with a mid 50 y/o
homeless guy, who had all belongings with him.
He seemed to be clean (at least at this time) and we had a very interesting conversation.
2 extremes where talking with each other... he as homeless with almost no friends and family, stranded
in Vegas with a little shelter somewhere in a entrance in the very violent downtown...me as compared "spoiled" guy with everything I need (except ear issues) ....
Our conversation was really very warm and he really enjoyed to speak with me, he didn't ask me
for money or something else....
One thing he said and I really can't forget: Why should he feel bad in his bad situation, nobody wants to live in?
It wouldn't make him feel better... so he tries to think positive and hope for a chance for a change...
I don't know if he has better chances to recover.... so I tried to adapt this to my situation with
hearing loss and tinnitus and hyperacusis... for some days, I really felt better.... but back at home, where
I see all things I know, it's very terrible...
At the moment I have to define some new strategies.....
Just which?

Greets Tom

 

@tomytl -

The approach I suggested for giving more meaning to your life through the performance of purposeful acts of kindness for those less fortunate than yourself was not meant to be a one-shot deal. It is a way of living. And one of the byproducts - over time - is that your own sorrows tend to diminish and you make a difference for the greater good.

If you a looking to define a specific single strategy for your hearing loss, your tinnitus, and your hyperacusis - the only strategy that I am aware of that addresses all three is TRT.

Stephen Nagler

 

Hi Dr. Nagler,

thanks for reply and advice for TRT, I have to find a place where I can do this... need to ask my ENT.
As for the one shot, yes, I am aware of this, it was just something I felt after I talked to
someone in a very very hard situation. Here in my country you don't see ( or almost not very often) people
in this situation, so it was a new exchange to discuss.

I am generally a very social person, who also like to help even I am in a good shape.
To do this in a bad shape needs also some extra energy.... but I agree, to do
things like you described make sense...

Greets Tom

 

I've got to admit that I particularly feel bad for Demi because she is darn cute. Be careful not to plug up too much Dem. It can make your ear more sensitive (allegedly)