My Experience with Tinnitus, Overprotection, and Antidepressants

So, I went to New York City this past Saturday for the first time in 2 years, and here's a rundown of how it went.

I took the Metro-North train from Connecticut, which was a 110-minute ride, without hearing protection.

Upon arriving, I left Grand Central Terminal, and proceeded to walk for the next hour or so on the city streets, still without protection.

My destination was Central Park, where I was seeing Shakespeare in the Park that evening. It was a modern-day adaptation of The Merry Wives of Windsor, which took place in Harlem, with an all-Black cast. Before the show began, one of the actors was out on the stage interacting with the audience, and, soon after, he began beating African rhythms on a large hand drum, which I believe was amplified. This was the only time when things seem a little loud for me, but it only went on for a couple of minutes, so I stuck it out without earplugs.

Unfortunately, it started raining before the play could begin, so it was delayed about 2 hours. I had to catch my train back to CT at a certain time, so I was only able to see about 40 minutes of the play. There was some more drumming, and other music, but I still decided to forgo my earplugs.

When I left the show, I needed to take the subway back to Grand Central, so I finally decided to put my plugs in, since it can get really loud down there. Once I arrived at the station, I took them out, but I put them back in for the ride back to Connecticut, because I wanted to relax, and there were some rowdy passengers on the train.

The next day, Sunday, my tinnitus was pretty bad. Since it normally fluctuates, I didn't know if the trip into the city was the cause, but my ears were definitely exposed to more loud noises that usual, so I decided to take NAC.

When I woke up on Monday, though, my tinnitus was really low, and it's continued that way through today.

All in all, it was a great trip, and it gave me an idea of just how much my ears can stand, which I believe is more than I gave them credit for. Of course, I'll continue to protect myself when I think it's necessary, but for now, I'm going to continue with no protection in my day-to-day life, and I'm looking forward to returning to NYC in less than 2 weeks.