I'm Julie, My Tinnitus Started 50 Years Ago from a Firecracker Explosion

I'll bet I'm not the only one here with that issue!

I have not yet had the time to do much reading on this forum, but it looks interesting and I might learn something. Hopefully, I'll be able to offer some support and empathy to others, if nothing else.

My tinnitus started when I was 16 (that's 50 years ago, eek!). I was sitting on a lawn with my then-boyfriend, side by side, when his younger brother sneaked up on us and dropped a lit firecracker between the two of us and then ran off. The explosion caused instant pain in my left ear and then ringing in both ears.

I'm fairly sure I 'habituated' easily, as young people are sometimes able to do. However, two years later, diving off the diving board and into the local swimming pool, I had excruciating pain deep in my left ear. I was so dizzy I wasn't sure I'd make it out of the water. My eardrum perforated and I developed an infection that took weeks and weeks to clear up.

Even then, tinnitus didn't cause me any issues, other than occasionally. I learned it's not a good idea to use Coke to wash down aspirin, for instance, as it started my ears jangling.

I also knew I had some hearing loss due to one or both incidents. By the time I was in my 30s, it was becoming more noticeable.

In my late 40s, first marriage dissolved, two young adult children, I re-located to my mother's home country (the UK) and became a mature university student. I always sat as close to the front as possible, didn't want to miss what was being said. I also re-married.

In 2008, I saw an audiologist for the first time, since the tinnitus was really bothering me. Aside from prescribing hearing aids, she talked to me about stress, both the good and the bad kinds. She felt I was suffering from chronic stress to go with the chronic tinnitus, but couldn't really offer anything other than the hearing aids, which helped.

Since that time, though, I've always been aware of the tinnitus but have sometimes had 'flare ups' where it's got really bad. For instance, my partner and I have recently returned from a six week visit to the US. I didn't sleep well for the entire six weeks and had a difficult time settling back in since returning home - this resulted in a flare up that is cyclical in nature - I can't sleep, which stresses me out, which makes the tinnitus worse, which makes it difficult to sleep, and so on.

Happily, in the last week or so, my sleep has improved, stress levels are down and the tinnitus seems to have settled. It's always with me though and I've finally decided it was time to do something... this forum is the start.

Apologies for the lengthy introduction!

 

Dear @JulieJ, welcome to the forum and thanks for your thorough introduction and explanation.

I have had tinnitus for 20 years but it worsened dramatically after a firecracker incident last New Year's Eve. Reading that you have been able to manage a firecracker induced tinnitus well for 50 years gives me hope!

May I ask: has your tinnitus decreased at all since that explosion 50 years ago?

Or is it more that you have habituated to the noise?

All the best,
Juliane

 

50 years... but sounds like you had it pretty mild, at least for most of this time - like 35 years of it at least. Good for you, you have done well. That little bastard that did it to you, should rot in hell (there is no hell, though, probably).

Some of us have it severe from the onset. There is no "more noticeable", rather loud almost every single second.

 

Mine started with pyrotechnics at a rock concert. It's quite unbelievable how loud those are allowed to be. All very well limiting the music volume to 100 dB or whatever but pyrotechnics can be up to 170 dB. Insane.

 

Hello there! Sorry it's become bothersome for you.

Mine started from a very low dose medication called Buspar. I think mine started off as severe but is now moderate. I wish for mild tinnitus!