Learn from Others' Mistakes

Crumbs, aren’t you clever Ed.
@Ed209

 

Just pointing out some facts. I was trained in sound engineering as well as music which helps with all things relating to sound. Don’t big me up too much though I’m not that great .

If anyone is interested, though, I just fell upon a link which backs up what I said about ear protection. There are many sources relating to this subject but this gets straight to the point:

I’ll paste an excerpt below:

Ear plug ratings are regulated by international standards and ratings. In the United States, the EPA requires that every product post their NRR (Noise Reduction Rating). This measures the potential of reduction in sound by dB (decibels).

These ratings rely on proper usage, which varies so greatly that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) developed derating systems to more accurately portray NRR. In other words, ear plugs are so often misused that an NRR may inaccurately portray the level of protection. As a consumer, it is difficult to know whether or not you’re wearing them correctly, and even more so to tell the difference between correctly and incorrectly worn ear plugs.

https://www.yourbestdigs.com/reviews/the-best-ear-plugs/#noise-reduction-ratings

 

Still think you are clever though x

 

For many tinnitus sufferers, the intensity varies from day to day between mild, moderate and serious.
Do they suffer varying degrees of damage from day to day?
And where should (this constantly changing) damage be? On the cochlea, on the auditory nerves, or right in the brain?

 

Good point.

Given my experiences, the probability I assign to getting a spike after noise exposure is substantial.

You Can stay away from noise. I am doing it, @flobo is doing it, @Red is doing it, as do many others.

The damage causes symptoms. The symptoms vary from day to day.

We might never know.

 

If we cannot eliminate the causes, it would make sense to minimize the symptoms...
Why vary the symptoms?

 

I was just trying to point out that just because T volume is variable doesn't necessarily mean that the cause of T is variable. Also, the original cause of T (acoustic trauma) is not the same as what is causing us to experience T (possibly neurons).

Protecting one's ears would hopefully help to promote recovery and minimize the symptoms.

 

Your statement above is very compassionate as we know that our experiences with tinnitus may be different from someone else. On this topic many things may cause a spike. I will often get a temporary spike just from taking a nap.

For me with physical tinnitus it could depend on neck movement and the weight of noise blocking headphones that compresses arteries and muscles in my neck causing a spike. I have heart disease which is not friends with loud noise. I also have a compromised spinal cord where any sound vibrations from touch can travel causing a spike. Ear protection plus the use of rubber gloves will help with that. This thread subject matter is just endless and it depends on one's conditions.

We can't project that we know the answers per someone else.

 

Lesson from others mistakes A. they have hard time with spikes and they last. B. They realize this is not the yellow brick road to OZ. C. And advice on dealing with spikes or T is welcome. D. Small sounds can lead to becoming permanent! E. Waking up to spikes can take your breath away not to mention messing up your day and the day after. Is there a happily ever after.

 

My advice for everyone who just got Tinnitus (if you are reading this) is please do not expose yourself to concerts/clubs/theather or you will make it worse. PLEASE Do not use headphones/earbuds and DO NOT DO EAR TESTS (like ear syrnging, micro suction, caloric test, vemp, ecog, acoustic reflex, tympanometry,etc) BECAUSE You will make it worse. I had initially mild T and now I have very very intrusive tinnitus with severe hyperacusis. My T can be heard over my own voice and other peoples. I barely sleep at night anymore and I have also Severe H, turning pages of a book hurts, as well as my own voice and other peoples voices.
If you get Mild T please just leave it alone, dont read stuff over this forum, shut it off, and move on. You will habituate and will move on with your life. If you obsess over it and monitor it all the time and ALLOW dumb ENTs and Audiologists to touch it, you can make it worse and let me tell you, you dont want to have what I have. Because of my Severe H and Severe T I also developed dark eye floaters ( never had that before in my life), and I got High blood pressure which causes me balance issues. DONT MAKE TROUBLE. also dont overprotect your ears, you can walk outside without earplugs but make sure to cover them up when ambulance passes.

 

If you do that, and you get a spike as a result of the noise, learn from that mistake. But of course if you do that and it works out for you, learn from that experience too and act accordingly.

 

Bill did your T reduce? I have Severe H and T since January and I saw 0 improvement.

 

I don't want to go into details, but I will say that it is quieter compared to how it was a year ago.

 

I want my to reduce but what I really want is for my Severe H to go away. I cant even talk how bad it is. I am confused Bill. I had no Severe T on the R ear, then when I did the ear tests on Jan 15, which were primarily on the R (healthy ear) two weeks later I Developed severe h on right ear and just moderate h on left ear. I do not know whether my TMJ caused the severe H on the R ear. I have bad TMJ on R ear, you can even feel the cartilage on the TMJ joint on the right cheek.

 

@dpdx I feel for you, but in time your issues should get better. I got my first very severe tinnitus from syringing causing hearing loss, then an ear test. What really helped was to use a warm towel and gently rub my entire head and neck. I started doing this at three year and by year 4 I had improvement. I also had severe H and for that I was able to take advantage of the rain season from my covered open porch. It wiped out my severe H after having it for 1.5 years in two weeks.

One of my many problem from my newer severe onset - whiplash is TMJ. Ora-Guard has a design that does not cover front teeth - only the first three molars on each side. I can't cover my back teeth as my jaw joint hurts more. I use a cold towel or ice wrapped in a towel and I place it on the jaw joint for a few minutes. I use gentle massage.

Pink music - I use a brook from U Tube as much as possible. I play it soft and use it in the background when I go to other internet sites. I play pink rain at night.

I try to lower blood pressure naturally and increase oxygen flow. Breathing exercises. A little vitamin C. Some walking and gentle arms movements.

Lots of idea on this site.

 

I didnt know caloric test was ear syrnging. Crazy.
Turning pages of the book hurts my ears, talking, other people talking, urinating, turning lightswitches on, etc
I cant work anymore. pretty much disabled, add in the severe tinnitus.
I also have ear fullness now and moderate hearing loss from the caloric test.

 

Same with me to all that you said. Yesterday I received another spike and very increased hyperacusis on top on my high pitched severe tinnitus. I don't know if a spike from neck issues and hearing caused the spike or if hyperacusis caused the spike. Then maybe the spike caused more hyperacusis.

I don't think my spike & H of yesterday is from my TMJ. For you I suppose it could be possible that your TMJ is causing hyperacusis. I hope that someday you get some relief.

 

We are tormented souls.

 

I had tmj before and no severe h, severe h presented itself about 2 weeks after those ear tests, and severe t one week.

 

To be fair, the quieter the sounds, the lower is the chance that it can lead to a permanent spike. Just do your best to avoid the sounds that feel loud to you, and things will hopefully work out.

You say that your T was caused by stress. I read many posts where people like you report recovering, or greatly improving. Have you experienced any fading in the past 6 months?

 

How can stresss cause Tinnitus. That means everyone should have tinnitus. I think T is caused by hearing loss or some other malady.

 

@Greg Sacramento Is there a way to tell that your tinnitus spike was likely caused by a neck problem?

I had to move 2 heavy stones today, bending down, to help my grandparents empty one tank.

 

@Jiri ----- It could be:
- Neck issues, hearing, spike, hyperacusis increase
I don't know what caused what

I don't think it was my heart, jaw or noise exposure.
I'm not taking any meds, but will start new heart meds tomorrow.

Thanks for caring.

 

No problem @Greg Sacramento . I hope you feel better soon.

 

I'm coming up to year now and my T is from stress, I medically had nothing, no meds other than allergies med that I was on for years. I was mostly never around noise, but I I'm not like the most who have T by noise or hearing lost I also have none, I'm also 53 They can say I'm 53, but I don't buy into that. I think in general I learned some functional ways about T from here. As far as sounds that make my T spike in the beginning I had more spikes and it may have been from small or large sounds around me, l could not pinpoint to no where land. As far as my T lowing, it has at times, but with three tones, static, crickets, irregular T and I will say at the 6 months mark I felt my body was better and that's good enough for now.

 

Could it be that you had experienced "sudden hearing loss", and it caused T?

 

I had a MRI all blood work, and I went to 2 audio and one hearing person (private company ) all test confirmed no loss. I had to fight from private to sell me maskers. Believe me I found the whole thing shocking. I truly believe a had a stress mind Snap. Which I made up that term.

 

Bill, Ty for thoughts in my T, again thanks again.

 

Add my horror story in as well with the ENT, so people can avoid the same mistake. Not only do you get loud T but black eye floaters and visual snow.

 

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/caloric-test.26658/