Is the Occlusion Effect a Big Concern for Tinnitus?

[geg1992]

There's lots written about it and how it can be dangerous, but I've never heard of any experiences of people having an increase in tinnitus because of it?

I saw someone on here who used to regularly go to clubs with plugs in and never had a problem with the occlusion effect.

Any experiences?

 

[Karl28]

Or at the dentist with earplugs in.

 

[Elfin]

Is the occlusion effect enough to cause a worsening of tinnitus? Had my plugs in for quite sometime (working amongst noise), so had this effect for several hours.

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[dingaling]

In short - yes

The occlusion effect (plugging your ears) means there is no outlet for tinnitus - the sound is trapped within the occluded canal causing a perceived increase in loudness of the tinnitus

 

[Aaron123]

Is the occlusion effect enough to cause a worsening of tinnitus?

Tinnitus may be temporarily be louder or more noticeable while wearing earplugs because you aren't hearing external sounds that might distract you from the tinnitus. It may also be the case that the brain cranks up the volume to compensate for the lost input. In either case, in any reasonable circumstance, it is not going to make things permanently worse.

The occlusion effect (plugging your ears) means there is no outlet for tinnitus - the sound is trapped within the occluded canal causing a perceived increase in loudness of the tinnitus

This is incorrect. Subjective tinnitus is not an external sound and cannot be "trapped".

 

[GregCA]

Is the occlusion effect enough to cause a worsening of tinnitus? Had my plugs in for quite sometime (working amongst noise), so had this effect for several hours.

The occlusion effect applies to sound coming "from the inside" (for example, when you talk), not outside noise. Tinnitus doesn't qualify as inside sound because it isn't physically represented by a sound wave (so it won't reflect/refract). So unless you were screaming during all that time, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Elfin]

Thanks guys - what I'm saying is is the loud internal noise (hearing own voice louder with plugs in) enough to cause noise trauma?

I know I'll hear my T more with plugs in, but worried of acoustic trauma from occlusion effect.


Thanks!

 

[GregCA]

Thanks guys - what I'm saying is is the loud internal noise (hearing own voice louder with plugs in) enough to cause noise trauma?

So unless you were screaming during all that time, I wouldn't worry.

 

[dingaling]

In short - yes The occlusion effect (plugging your ears) means there is no outlet for tinnitus - the sound is trapped within the occluded canal causing a perceived increase in loudness of the tinnitus

[QUOTE="Aaron123 said: This is incorrect. Subjective tinnitus is not an external sound and cannot be "trapped".[/QUOTE]

@Aaron123 I beg to differ. Sounds from inside the head are perceived as being louder when the ear canal is occluded. The important word here is "perceived"

 

[GregCA]

@Aaron123 I beg to differ. Sounds from inside the head are perceived as being louder when the ear canal is occluded. The important word here is "perceived"

But only sounds that are actually made of actual sound waves (ie pressure waves in the air) can reflect on a plug. Subjective tinnitus isn't made of sound waves: it's an electrical stimulus that is generated without any sound wave, so by definition, it cannot reflect on a surface. You can't capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone for the same reason.

 

[dingaling]

But only sounds that are actually made of actual sound waves (ie pressure waves in the air) can reflect on a plug. Subjective tinnitus isn't made of sound waves: it's an electrical stimulus that is generated without any sound wave, so by definition, it cannot reflect on a surface. You can't capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone for the same reason.

You can capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone - it then becomes objective tinnitus. How do you think OAEs are captured?

 

[GregCA]

You can capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone - it then becomes objective tinnitus.

By definition, subjective tinnitus is the kind that you can't capture with a microphone, so no, you can't capture it.
Tinnitus itself is partitioned in two sets: objective and subjective. Objective is not a subset of Subjective. They are disjoined sets.

 

[Aaron123]

You can capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone -

Sorry, but you can't.

 

[Tinker Bell]

You can capture subjective tinnitus with a microphone - it then becomes objective tinnitus. How do you think OAEs are captured?

OAEs are not tinnitus. They are the very faint sound caused by outer hair cell vibrations in response to external sound.

Unless you're suggesting tinnitus is those hair cells vibrating?

 

[dingaling]

OAEs are not tinnitus. They are the very faint sound caused by outer hair cell vibrations in response to external sound.

Unless you're suggesting tinnitus is those hair cells vibrating?

What about SOAEs then? They can occur in the absence of external sound. I know technically, they are not tinnitus

 

[Tinker Bell]

What about SOAEs then? They can occur in the absence of external sound. I know technically, they are not tinnitus

They are still not subjective tinnitus caught with a microphone.

 

[Zinnia]

Thanks guys - what I'm saying is is the loud internal noise (hearing own voice louder with plugs in) enough to cause noise trauma?

I know I'll hear my T more with plugs in, but worried of acoustic trauma from occlusion effect.


Thanks!

@Elfin , The occlusion effect causes the decibels to literally increase in your ear. There is no question surrounding that. I personally believe it can worsen T depending on how loud your own voice is. I've read accounts of people saying that just screaming (w/no plugs) has permanently increased their tinnitus.

My own T is so reactive that I can barely talk with earplugs in without spikes so occlusion really bothers my ear. I would be wary of speaking loudly w earplugs in.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

What should one do at the dentist with drilling - wear noise blocking headphones or not?

 

[hans799]

What should one do at the dentist with drilling - wear noise blocking headphones or not?

I've read many threads and the consensus seems to be to not wear plugs at the dentist. Dental drilling generates physical vibrations inside your head and the earplug removes an outlet for these, leading to an increase in perceived and actual loudness. You can try this easily - go to dentist, plug ears, unplug ears, you'll see that being plugged is worse in this specific case.

The recommended practice is to reduce noise by asking the dentist to drill 5 seconds, then stop for 10. You might have to shop around for a sympathetic dentist. I was brushed off by 2 older docs, and the third one, a 30-something doc was the charm, he's superbly understanding. (Also superbly expensive haha.)

Finally, focus on developing excellent dental hygiene. Brush twice, use mouthwash twice, floss once every single day with quality brushes, paste, mouthwash and floss. The single best thing you can do for dentist noise is to prevent it by preventing cavities. I had to go to the dentist every year like clockwork; this year I picked up these habits and 0 new cavities, plus all gum inflammation is gone, no more bleeding when brushing etc, it's just great.

(One of my incisors is artificial and I broke a piece off by biting into something hard, that's why I need the aforementioned sympathetic doc - not a cavity.)