My Tinnitus Has Spiked After Being Exposed to a Kitchen Fan for 30 Minutes

Hi everyone,

Haven’t been here in a really long time, but I deeply need the support now...

I’ve had stress-induced tinnitus for almost two years now and been coping with it just fine until 4 weeks ago (of course in the beginning it took me months to learn how to cope).

Four weeks ago I was standing under a kitchen fan, I usually wear earplugs for that because they make me scared, but this time I didn’t. I stood there cooking for 30 minutes, worrying about a possible spike happening because of it and of course that’s what happened.

I used to be able to sleep and cover the noise with nature sounds just fine, right now it’s been so loud for 4 weeks I’m afraid the spike is here to stay and I won’t be able to go back to the (for me) near silence I came to about up until 4 weeks ago.

Hoping some of you could instill some hope in me: i.e. ‘the spike can’t be from a kitchen fan’ ‘it sounds like stress and will go away’...

Thank you in advance,
Rose

 

I've come to learn and accept that spikes can last longer than I'm comfortable with (I'm dealing with one myself). Hopefully yours will end soon!

 

Am I wrong in assuming that a kitchen fan (I measured it too) is never loud enough to cause permanent damage to hearing?

I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty of saying this but since your tinnitus is stress induced, and you were "scared" of the fans, is it possible that your spike is, again, stress/anxiety induced?

TL;DR: don't wear earplugs for things that will not damage your hearing, because just the act of putting them in / thinking about them will make you many times more scared of the fans (in this case) than you need to be.

Showers used to spike me - thought about wearing earplugs but then said to myself: come on, man - if a shower is enough to cause further damage, you may as well stop getting out of bed. Since then I just shower without - if it spikes, it spikes. I really need to relax. (Pretty sure majority of people here are anxious people > not saying that this is the only cause of all of our tinnitus, but it does not help with the coping process).

(Sorry for the rambling - it's 8am here, waiting for a conference call).

 

Rose,

It's unlikely to have caused any lasting damage...

Do you have an issue with hyperacusis?

I'd recommend resting your ears... and some relaxing things, get some rest, massage etc...

It's happened to us all...