I am a 27 year old male. I'm actually a med student, so I'm pretty well versed in medical terminology and decision-making.
I've had tinnitus since 2011. It honestly has not bothered me at all over the past 8 years. Well, it did for like the first three months, but I was able to habituate and just ignore it. During the last 8 years, if I thought about it, I could hear it. But it just didn't bother me because I could easily tune it out. I also couldn't hear it in many public places like grocery stores and at school.
I was also not more protective of my hearing than the average person. I used headphones all the time (at a normal volume) and went to my fair share of loud college parties, college nightclub visits, and extremely loud weddings (all without ear protection). The ringing was always at the same level at the end, and I honestly don't think I suffered any hearing loss.
However, last week I was aimless browsing YouTube while wearing my noise cancelling headphones. In one of the videos, someone screams so loud that it felt like full blast or more, even though my headphones were at around 60% volume.
I muted my computer in about four seconds, but it was really uncomfortable. Maybe even a little painful. Although I'm not sure if that's me just being stressed. Since then, I've really been focusing on my tinnitus the last two weeks. I'm not sure if it's louder than it used to be, but it seems more prominent. But maybe I am just undoing the habituation I've done by focusing on it. I will also say that I'm going through an incredibly stressful exam period in school right now, and I am very anxious. That may play a role as well.
Could a 4 (to maybe 6 second) really loud YouTube clip permanently spike my tinnitus to be much louder? Honestly, as a future doctor, if a patient asked me this question, my inclination would be to say no. It seems that the average maximum decibel output of most headphones is 110 dB. 4 seconds at 110 dB (and even 120 dB) is not enough to cause permanent damage. However, I'm so annoyed that some stupid guy yelling could cause me an issue like this after so long.
Any advice?
I've had tinnitus since 2011. It honestly has not bothered me at all over the past 8 years. Well, it did for like the first three months, but I was able to habituate and just ignore it. During the last 8 years, if I thought about it, I could hear it. But it just didn't bother me because I could easily tune it out. I also couldn't hear it in many public places like grocery stores and at school.
I was also not more protective of my hearing than the average person. I used headphones all the time (at a normal volume) and went to my fair share of loud college parties, college nightclub visits, and extremely loud weddings (all without ear protection). The ringing was always at the same level at the end, and I honestly don't think I suffered any hearing loss.
However, last week I was aimless browsing YouTube while wearing my noise cancelling headphones. In one of the videos, someone screams so loud that it felt like full blast or more, even though my headphones were at around 60% volume.
I muted my computer in about four seconds, but it was really uncomfortable. Maybe even a little painful. Although I'm not sure if that's me just being stressed. Since then, I've really been focusing on my tinnitus the last two weeks. I'm not sure if it's louder than it used to be, but it seems more prominent. But maybe I am just undoing the habituation I've done by focusing on it. I will also say that I'm going through an incredibly stressful exam period in school right now, and I am very anxious. That may play a role as well.
Could a 4 (to maybe 6 second) really loud YouTube clip permanently spike my tinnitus to be much louder? Honestly, as a future doctor, if a patient asked me this question, my inclination would be to say no. It seems that the average maximum decibel output of most headphones is 110 dB. 4 seconds at 110 dB (and even 120 dB) is not enough to cause permanent damage. However, I'm so annoyed that some stupid guy yelling could cause me an issue like this after so long.
Any advice?
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