Is the Noise of a Bath or Shower too Loud?

I realize that I may be getting over sensitive to this stuff but I figured I'd get some rational opinions on this anyway as I'm in a not so rational state of mind lately. I wanna believe that this is a ludicrous question but then people say that if you have to raise your voice to be heard that would be too loud. Wouldn't that then be the case for showers and baths?

 

I don't know who those "people" are that are saying such things, but showers and baths are fine. It's a gentle white noise, and won't do you any harm at all. For a lot of us, the sound of running water is the only time during the day when the tinnitus "disappears" temporarily.

 

@Cheza I've seen that rule as a guideline pretty often I feel like. Honestly I just oughta break down and buy a decibel measurer and put these fears to bed. Thanks for the reassurance, and Oregon....Nice.

 

@Falconfox, it is very common to develop psychological hyperacusis at the early T stage. Every loud noise seems menacing since we do not know whether it will make things worse or not. It took me several months to get back to more or less normal in this department. One can get free or nearly free smartphone apps to measure sound levels and they can be very useful. I carry musician earplugs in my key chain all the time, but I rarely used them (only at some loud restaurants and movie theaters). Actually, I am surprised how relaxed I have become about this.

 

I wouldn't do that if I were you, because all you're doing is helping to make tinnitus the master of your life.

Volume isn't everything. Pitch matters, too, as well as whether a sound is something you can't stand or something you tolerate well. You know how everyone hates the sound of fingernails on a blackboard? It never bothered me! But a dog with a high-pitched sharp bark drives me up the wall, and always has. Avoid sounds that bother you, for the simple reason that stress in many people tends to heighten their perception of tinnitus.

Yes, Oregon!

 

I know where you're coming from as I too started to over analyse all the sounds I came into contact with. This paranoia in my case was driven mainly by the Internet, in fact I'd go as far to say that I would not have bothered if there was no Internet to trigger my inner anxieties. This is where there is good and bad in what you read online.

I downloaded a decibel metre onto my phone to monitor certain environments. At one point I even wore ear plugs as I drove around because the noise registered 85 decibels. Right now I'm at the stage where I can see how I was going about things the wrong way, firstly that level of OCD about something will actually work against you and make T, and H if you have it, worse. Also most environmental noises will do you no harm at all, in fact you can do more harm over protecting your ears than good. Most people fail to realise that between the 80-90db range it takes hours for any damage to occur. Most of these loud (loud is relative here) events are harmless and are the backdrop to normal life. That is as long as it's not a daily occurrence, around 8 hours a day, as an occupational thing or likewise. In that case you should be advised to wear protection anyway.

The time to protect your ears and have genuine concern is when the noise level really rises, such as in clubs and concerts etc. A lot of gigs hit 120 decibels which is pretty much damaging immediately, from now on I'll be wearing custom ear plugs in all of these environments but for everything else I'm going to do nothing.

Tonight is a cross roads for me as there is a concert on which I booked at the start of the year, and it's something I've been waiting to see for many years. I'm not going to be going, which on some level is devastating, but I decided it's too soon for me to risk going. I believe this is more or less a psychological reason, as if I wore my blue hearos plugs I'd get a decent reduction in db, and if I stood at the back I doubt anything would happen. Bone conduction is extremely negligible.

But saying that I've decided I'm not mentally ready. It would invoke some serious thoughts that could easily be misconstrued, id be battling against my extremely over analytical mind to convince myself it hasn't got worse. The stress alone would probably make it spike rather than the noise.

Given a bit more time I intend to fully immerse myself back into everything.

 

I read an old thread of yours.
The 80-90db noise is very loud for people with both T & H.
I am just curious and assume that you only have tinnitus without hyperacusis.
Is it correct ?

 

why are you assuming hyperacusis is pyschological?

 

I shower twice every day and never had issues.

 

People on this forum love their friggin concerts, huh.

 

Is it surprising?

 

That's a very general guide to knowing if noise in general is too loud and likely to cause damage. Often used as a guide to if you have your music too loud. It's based on an 8 hour weighting, as precise as it is possible to be with such a general measure as raising your voice. So the risk is only if you are in that kind of environment for 8 hours unprotected. For short durations there is no risk of hearing damage.

Hyperacusis is very different to hearing damage. I believe that the term "psychological hyperacusis" that's used here is the aversion many of us develop to sound when we first get tinnitus, because of the fear we will cause damage or make it worse. It is probably a form of hyperacusis in its own right, it is very different to hyperacusis with over amplification or hyperacusis with pain. I've had the first two so I am all too aware of the differences.

 

Did you go? Who did you see?

I go to concerts all the time these days. I jam with drummers. It's really fine with earplugs.