Nasty Spikes

I am very honest and don't BS, it's just who i am. My tinnitus has gotten louder and it was already very horrible. I know the reason for it as well and I am not surprised by it. I do martial arts and it's very loud and get even louder at times. I do not recommend anyone to do something that is loud and that could possibly impact and make their tinnitus worst.

I have been at this for almost 5 months now and do it 5-7 times a week. I have always loved martial arts and I have always been a fit individual. I live alone and take care of my dogs and the martial arts is an outlet to see other people and have interactivity.

It has all taken a toll on me. My tinnitus is louder and my spikes are louder as well and very annoying. I have come to a conclusion, either i start using ear plugs when we are doing bag exercises or just quit what I love doing. I do not have much support, i have no family left. The martial arts is what keeps me going and makes me feel alive.

I will pull my teacher aside tomorrow and explain to him that my ears are in hell and the tinnitus is out of control. I want his blessing, in regards to me wearing ear plugs when we are doing heavy/loud exercises.

I will look odd, as being the only student in the class with ear plugs on. But, that's nothing new for me, I never did what everyone else did and conformed to what society always wanted.

I cannot increase the insanity of my tinnitus even more, it is already very very painful and very very loud.

I will give it a shot and see what my teacher says...I careless what other students might think...I want to do what I love, but i will not push myself further into hell with these ears.

If my teacher says no, then i will stop going there and figure something else out (it will be very painful and depressing).

I am very open and honest with this board, I go through pain like you all do, but i still come here to support and love those that suffer...

Be well.....

Lately its been bad and I have been using white noise therapy, it helps quite a bit, but still not fully healing...

I also have an invite to a birthday party today with a bunch of little kids, another painful ordeal that i want to skip so bad, but these kids look up to me and i might show up just for them. My ears are fearing it, but what can one do

 

I will give it a shot and see what my teacher says...I careless what other students might think...I want to do what I love, but i will not push myself further into hell with these ears.

If my teacher says no, then i will stop going there and figure something else out (it will be very painful and depressing).

Why would your teacher say no, though? I don't see how it's any of their business...

 

He's a traditional teacher and anything that defys the culture of his school and training gets under his skin... He has no problem kicking someone out...

 

Here is part 1 of what went on tonight.

I went to the birthday party and it was a great night. They were lighting fireworks and I was covering my ears and protecting them. Then one of the people at the party, said "why are you covering your ears" and they were laughing.

I told them that my ears are messed up and I have brutal ringing in them 24 7. It didn't make sense to them and I was like, you are lucky to not go through this ordeal. I said what I said and did not care, what their reaction was. I covered my ears and was proud of myself and being the only one out of 12 people that covered my ears and I stood out.

I had no shame about what i was doing and i careless what people thought.

I have my martial arts class tomorrow and I will explain to the teacher my situation and i will tell him that I need to wear ear plugs, when the class gets loud.

Either he accepts it and says ok, or i will quit and find a new school to join. I don't take nonsense and I'm very comfortable in my skin....

Take care friends

PS- The great part about tonight was talking to 2 girls that I really like and both are very pretty and very fit. I was working some of my mojo on them and it's almost getting there

 

@fishbone - I walk out of any loud event no matter what . I tell people that ears are messed up and I need to leave . They used to gossip or laugh but you are the one who has to suffer along when there is a spike .
We can't be shy about this other wise we can go through hell for rest of our life .

 

@fishbone you're an awesome person. I appreciate the support you've given me. Maybe do something that is quieter for now like yoga and bike riding? Give your ears a chance to settle for a bit. I know you love martial arts but maybe other physical activity to let it settle....

 

I protect my ears regardless of what people think. I am not shy by no means and will protect myself and my ears at all times. If people accept it, great. If not, great. Yes, at the end of the day, we have to make sure we are doing well and not how society thinks...

 

Thanks for the kind words

I love this martial arts system and I won't be ashamed if i am the only student out of 20, that has an ear plug in my ears. I do this art form for me and not the other students. If people understand my situation, great..if not, that's ok too.

I cannot raise the level of tinnitus any further and i need to take action now

 

Right on, brother.

 

Put the plugs in, it's like wearing a knee brace, a cup, or anything else, the teacher won't care, or even say anything.

 

Yeah, I'd do this. If he kicks you out over a health problem... well, that's super fucked up.

 

I cut a foam, skin toned earplug in half, or trim it even smaller, for moderately loud places like bars or sports events. You have to place them properly of course, but I find it usually gives enough protection to prevent any serious reactivness in tinnitus volume. There are no bits sticking out, it's comfortable and unless someone looks right into your ears, are completely invisible.

You do have to be careful extracting them though, because they're in deep. A car key is usually the best and handiest. People may be horrified of course, about using these sorts of tools, but I've been doing it for decades with little problem.

 

A car key. Really?

 

'Fraid so! I probably shouldn't be recommending it, but for the sake of practicality, it's what I use in the absence of carrying a set of otological tweezers on my person. Common sense should prevail, though I know it's not always that common.

 

Is it the noise spiking it or the straining? Do you live near water, could you do something more relaxing like paddle boarding?
Re the kids party, well I am surrounded by said species all the time and I wear plugs, they do bring so much sunshine though x

 

Nice! Get er done!

 

Well here's another update: I went to my school and talked with the teacher and explained what was going on and how my tinnitus has gotten worst, since i been exposed to the training. I asked him if i am able to wear my ear plugs when it gets really loud. He truly values me as a student and even more..as a human and told me to come to class for sure and use whatever i need to feel comfortable.

Here is the takeaway from all of this: I was honest with my teacher and I shared what was going on. This has always worked for me...

My next part is going to class and wearing my ear plugs for the first time. All the students know that I am one of the hardest working martial artist in that school and they all respect me.

Ty for listening to me and taking an interest in my journey. I follow yours and support you guys..ALWAYS

 

I am 15 years old and I am the only student wearing ear plugs during fire alarms, assemblies, school concerts, etc. People often stare and get the gut to ask me why I am wearing them. I just say that I damaged my ears at a concert and don't want to create any further damage. Being the only kid with a pair of earplugs in her pencil case can be tough, but it is worth not making my tinnitus worse. I am also a dancer and I am the only person wearing earplugs while dancing. It is pretty tough as the music isn't too clear and my foam ear plugs have a chance of falling out. For this reason, I am looking in to getting custom musicians earplugs. They are quite expensive but completely worth it if it protects my ears. Good luck to you!

 

Great job! Keep being strong and protect your ears

 

Good for you! As a parent, I can tell you that I will now be very protective of my kids' hearing and will teach them to use protection at loud events.

Given the increasing trend of younger people getting tinnitus, I don't think you'll be the only one with earplugs soon.

 

That's great to read. Looking forward to an update after a successful earplug class. What type of earplugs are you using?

 

My spikes have been ultra horrible this last 1-2 weeks and..lately i been using white noise to make things a little easier. As i have mentioned, the martial arts is pretty much all that keeps me motivated right now and i cannot quit it.

I went to class tonight and it was loud, but not as crazy as usual. I had one ear plug in my left ear (the real bad ear) and we were doing our routine drills. It was still a bit loud but it was not that bad. I have classes tomorrow and friday. I might possibly not go tomorrow and just go on friday night.

I might wear both of them either tomorow or friday night. I paid no attention to any of the other students and i did not care..what anyone thought. My goal is to not further damage my ears and raise my tinnitus sound level..

I'm sure, what i am experiencing is just a nasty spike (well I hope) and hopefully it can settle down. im using white noise to help out and it helps me. I am not advising folks to use white noise...i'm just sharing what i am doing to help with this nasty high frequency - non maskable tinnitus.