New Here, Recent Tinnitus From Shooting Range

Hi all,

I've taken pretty good care of my hearing over the years - never been too much for concerts, watched the volume on my headphones etc. Whenever I've had it tested there's been little hearing loss (I think maybe 5-10 last time I checked, I'm 31 btw).

I'm in the National Guard and was assisting with our unit's weapon qualification recently. I usually bring my own set of ear protection, forgot to this time and so I just used a standard set of foam plugs. As well as my qualification shoot, I spent some time watching others as a safety/coach. I noticed several times that I'd hear the shots more distinctly than usual and occasionally a high pitched whine would immediately follow.


I didn't notice any after effects that evening or the day following, but the day after that I noticed a faint high pitched ring in my ears. I'm trying not to be overly alarmed about it, hoping it may fade over time (it's been about a week now), but I'm also seeking advice and help so decided to look at these forums. I haven't yet seen a Doctor but was wondering how long to give it before I booked an appointment.

Thanks in advance for any advice or support!

 

You need to book an appointment immediately. Don't sleep it off and see what happens. There are emergency treatments with a small window of opportunity that can maximize your chances of recovery.

 

Thanks - I called my GP/Primary Care Physician and luckily there's a spot open this afternoon so I'm being seen in a couple of hours

 

Welcome Adam.

Since your tinnitus is so new and may be related to acoustic trauma, you may want to get your doctor/ENT to prescribe a course of prednisone or other corticosteroids. Members here highly recommend new T patient to get this treatment as soon as possible. Here is a discussion thread on this treatment:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...dexamethasone-others-oral-and-injections.348/

 

Just got done. Turns out there's fluid buildup in my ears, so I've been prescribed a nasal spray to take with clarityn and see how that goes for a week.

 

The nasal spray I've been perscribed is the corticosteroid fluticasone propionate, so hopefully that may help.

 

Good. But you may want to read the thread of the link I provided above to see if the stuff is applied by spraying or they are talking about taking it orally or by injection. It may make a difference. Since I didn't know about this during my initial days, I never got the treatment myself. So I will be the last person to advise you there. I just provided the link so hopefully you can read it up more to see what work and what don't.

 

Quick update; spoke to my Doctor yesterday and she wants me to stay on the current medication for another week before trying anything else.

A couple of times I've noticed it fade and come back, but I don't know if that's just psychological.

 

Plus, just as a confidence boost, I took a couple of hearing tests online. While I know they're not as accurate as the real thing, I was happy to see that I only had about 10-15 db (close to my last check through the military), and the highest loss was in the low frequency, whereas my tinnitus is very high (not sure if that's positive or not?)

 

Nasal sprays do just that - clear nasal problems. It it somewhat difficult to get the spray all the way to the middle ear.

Oral or injected prednisone is the way to go for tinnitus induced by acute acoustic trauma. Other than that, you may want to enroll in the AM-101 trials. More info can be found here: http://www.tinnitus-study.info