Is Riding Motorcycles Over for Me?

Hey all, some of you may know that I'm in these forums for maybe about a month or a bit more

Got my tinnitus from a loud rave sometime in August this year, coping a little better with it and it feels like the right ear is a bit better since, but left still noisy.. but can only hear in complete silence.

I have motorcycle I love and have been riding for over 2 years, it's not extremely loud, however I am aware that wind noise is more of a problem...

So I just want to ask, is biking over for me? Just today I was about to drive into city to get myself a better set of earplugs for the bike... but before I stepped outside anxiety got the best of me and told me to get back inside and forget about it... I was already on the bike twice since my tinnitus and I didn't get a spike or anything...

For some reason my anxiety came back and I just really want to ask... even with earplugs is it okay to go on a motorcycle?

Thank you so much reading, I really do appreciate this forum and the people here!

 

The fact that you got so anxious that your anxiety got the best of you should tell you something.
Anything that increases our anxiety is not good for those who suffer from T. There are many posts and people here that have experienced stress and anxiety that either caused a spike or made one they were experiencing even worse. In 2014, I experienced the worst T spike and H for the first time in over 30 years because of sustained stress and anxiety.

If I were you, I would at least put off riding for a while. I gave up riding but I still wear earplugs when I ski because of the wind buffeting.

You can check out these earplugs at the Earplug Super Store that are designed for motorcyclists. I never did use any of them. So, I can't tell you from experience if any of them are effective:

http://www.earplugstore.com/motorcyclegear1.html?_s_icmp=HOMEBAR3_MOTORCYCLE

 

Thanks for the answer @jimH , i wouldn't really call it anxiety i guess, more like i was about to leave but i thought "maybe i shouldn't" Sorry i should of used a different word, i am calm about it.. I'm thinking about selling my bike now.. i really don't want to.. I'd have to use a bus to get into a city and I'm currently searching for work.. Even though i have a few problems i wouldn't stress over them easy But it does seem like my favourite hobby is over.. I would love however an answer from a rider with T. Once again thank you for your answer i really appreciate it, i also just wanted to say that i never got H, is that just being sensitive to sound?

 

Keep in mind that there are various causes for T. Therefore, my telling you that riding my Harley had never caused a spike in my T should not make you assume that riding a motorcycle won't affect yours either.

Hyperacusis is an over-amplification or for some a super-amplification of certain sounds. To the point where some experience discomfort while others even experience pain. Mine subsided after that terrible T spike I had experienced came to an end. When I first experienced H for the first time, I didn't even know what it was. I began searching for answers on the internet and that is when I found this forum and the answer I was looking for.

Every day I think of the people that suffer from both T & H. That's because I know from experience that those people living with those conditions at severe levels are living a hellish and tortured existence...

 

Very sorry to hear @jimH , it's exactly what I'm trying to avoid.. I'm 21 and I'll be honest before T i was a careless person enjoying life because "we only have one" since T I'm very careful of.. well everything.. i even stopped vaping (was on tobacco for a while switched to vaping, and was vaping for almost 3 years) and i stopped cold turkey because i read some study where vaping supresses a lot of immune genes.. so i thought stopping could help me recover faster if ever.. No nicotine also made my anger a bit worse but now it's three weeks since i stopped and it's slowly going away.. urges are still there. I hate how T can can lower life quality.. but I'm still trying to stay positive.. and i guess... I will sell my bike, and then i might get a minor depression since when i worry about something a ride helps me clear my head. Thanks so much for your time, and i hope it will get easier for you!

 

It all depends on your willingness to take a risk of permanently worsening your T.

 

Hey @Bill Bauer , At this point I'm fairly certain bike is going to be sold, damn i must admit it's going to be hard to do that. I also wanted to ask you and @jimH does caffeine or other things like lack of sleep make your T seem louder? I see people say that coffee or energy drinks make it louder, but it doesn't happen to me with anything so far, i just wonder is there something odd about that or is it just certain people that react? Thank you.

 

I read others on this forum say that caffeine and energy drinks made their T worse. So I stayed away from those things for about 6 months. Then I tried drinking a spoon of "5-hour energy" energy drink, and I didn't notice any increase in volume or change in pitch. Lack of sleep Used to increase the volume during the first few months. Now (I am 8 months in), it might sometimes increase the volume, but the effect is very minor.

 

I see @Bill Bauer thank you for that You're 8 months in.. how is it going for you? Any improvements? I'm fairly certain T in the right ear is improving a little but the left isn't , but hopefully it does.

 

Mine is a special case. When I was 3-4 months in, I had a secondary acoustic trauma (I accidentally pressed a phone, its volume set to max, to my bad ear). My T used to be a high pitch tone, but by month 3 it became a hiss. After the second acoustic trauma, it became a high pitch tone again. It was a huge setback.

In any case, I have experienced improvement compared to three months ago. Ten days ago, out of the blue T became more intense for a week. But now it got back to normal, and is possibly slightly better than it was two weeks ago.

At least my H is 90% gone.

 

I am happy to hear @Bill Bauer ! Hopefully it will become very unnoticeable or completely gone for you... But that's also a thing i don't understand.. A phone made it worse? Im Just wondering as i have been exposed to loud music by accident for half an hour at my friends house.. T didn't get louder. I do try to protect my ears when i really have to i just didn't have my ear plugs at that time and couldn't leave, i don't know if it's a good thing that it didn't get louder but either way I'm not exposing myself to loud sound.

 

I wouldn't risk it. But if you do, make sure you get good ear plugs and insert them correctly. I'd recommend tailor made or, second best in my experience, foam ones.

 

I think I'm going to spend a bit extra on proper motorcycle ear plugs from eBay.. But I'm still considering just giving it up completely. I need time to think about it thank you for your answer!

 

Yes - the spike lasted for months, and even now my T is seldom a hiss, making it harder to ignore. One has to be especially careful with noises that are delivered directly into the ear...

 

It is good that your ears are not as vulnerable as ears of many other people on this forum. But keep in mind that we get a limited number of second chances. Eventually it might get louder...

 

Bill do you have only one audible tone?

 

I found these, I'm not much of an expert but I'd like someone opinion on them they're about 30€ on eBay, designed for motorcycles.

 

What I've heard is that earplugs of that model ("Christmas tree") are ineffective. I can't verify it though, since I've never used them myself.

I think foam ear plugs, deeply inserted into the inner ear canal, is a good start if you want to protect your ears.

 

If you say so I'll keep searching, sometimes i wish we could turn hearing on or off like a switch haha

 

Because it doesn't affect some people while does others, self-experimentation is the only way for a person to know for sure if caffeine affects their T. You already stated that: "but it doesn't happen to me with anything so far." I've reduced or eliminated caffeine several times over the years and found that there was no change in my T. I'm glad of that because for many years I had to get up at 4:00am to go to work. Giving up coffee during that time would have been tough.

I don't know what your daily average caffeine intake is. Just remember if you do plan experimenting to see if you can reduce your T by reducing or eliminating caffeine to do it gradually. The first time I did it too quickly and experienced some wicked headaches....

They warn about that in this test regarding Caffeine abstinence and Tinnitus:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20053154

To answer the other part of your question, a lack of sleep can definitely set me up for a loud T day.

 

Even though both acoustic traumas happened to one ear, sometimes I hear one tone in my bad ear, and a quieter tone in my head and/or the good ear. But normally it is only one tone.

 

I,ve been riding my old Harley for almost 26 years.Until 2016 when I developoped T.Haven't touched it since.I notice a spike whenever I've ridden the bike.There is definately a connection.I drive a pretty loud car also.Whenever I drive it on the highway for a longer time I notice a spike.Motordays are over for me.Sad.My greatest hobby.Riding and fixing it.

 

I truly empathize with you, @Peet. My story is pretty much the same. Riding was one of the most enjoyable activities in my life. Having to give up riding my Harley Street Glide several years ago still hurts.

 

Mike, I had an AMAZING LIFE BEFORE THIS. It was so amazing and guess what I knew it was amazing and I THANKED GOD every morning when I would wake up and every night I would fall asleep. I had everything in life one could imagine and I made a list of the things I will do. I graduated college last year and planned to get a job, buy a car, fall in love, marriage, kids, travel, socialize, etc. All of this came to an end on September 23,2017 and a part of me died when I got T my life was reduced by about 20% from 100%, when I got severe T/H, Visual SNow, Dark Eye floaters, Starbursts, and High Blood Pressure..my life quality dropped even further. In two months it will be a year with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis, the prime years of my life are being wasted. It is so sad because I never really got to do things I wanted.