No Car, Bus Is Loud, I Don't Want to Risk Making My Tinnitus Worse → I'm Housebound

I notice that everytime I go outside, my tinnitus spikes even though I'm wearing Peltor X4A earmuffs + Hearos foam earplugs. I'm currently slowly tapering off of Prednisone and am trying to avoid loud noises to prevent it from worsening as I heard noises could worsen it easily now and my tinnitus is fluctuating by the day with volume and tones.

I don't have a car or anyone I could easily ask to drive me so I'm essentially housebound right now and not sure what to do.

Any suggestions?

I was considering ordering Peltor X5As for even more protection to combine with earplugs but even then I'd be scared, considering the bus can reach 90+ dB and have loud bumps in road.

I haven't even been able to go to school due to not wanting my tinnitus spiking/worsening while my ears are sensitive.

 

What about an eBike? I don't use the bus, train or metro anymore.

 

Wouldn't that be just as loud considering I'd be riding on the street next to traffic?

 

Your thoughts, @Matchbox?

 

Maybe you can choose quieter roads to drive on, or move to a quieter city.

But with double protection there is NO WAY you are going to get worse, even in the loudest of cities. Use some common sense.

 

IMO, something to consider is this:

Is it the noise that is causing you to have a spike or is it the lack of input from wearing unnecessary double protection that causes the auditory system to “turn up the gain” resulting in louder tinnitus or what we call a “spike” for a period of time?

IMO, anxiety is also a factor. If I’m worried a spike is going to happen, it probably will happen because I’m hyper focused on my tinnitus.

Just food for thought.

 

Ehh, I'm not so sure, sometimes buses can reach 100 dB, so it's risky even with double protection.

 

No reason to be homebound because you don't have a car. I gave mine away 30-40 years ago and never looked back. Uber, Lyft, bike, eBike. Normal noises outside shouldn't make your tinnitus worse. Sitting at home w/o an active life WILL make it worse, or make it seem to be worse because that will be all you have. When I got my tinnitus, I was leery about loud noises too, but except for one incident when I was sitting in a bus shelter and a bus roared by, no problems.

 

Would noise-cancelling headphones be useful? I use them for flying and they are very helpful. Unfortunately, while they are excellent for cancelling background noise, other sounds can be heard but the headphones do mute those sounds to a degree. I would consider getting a pair with Bluetooth and playing ocean waves or stream water running.

The combo of sound therapy and the noise-cancelling headphones might work.

 

The problem is not your average car. Harley Davidsons or cars with modified exhausts can reach over 120 dB. As do horns of trucks if you live at a place where that is used frequently. For many here, even double protection would not be enough to protect yourself from a worsening. A bus at least gives you one additional layer of protection. The noise in a bus can be partially dealt with by not sitting in the back (directly over the motor).

Though tapering off Prednisone might well be the reason for @cyberspace's current fluctuations. Best to see how it goes after that's over, if they are still as prone to worsenings.

 

I live in Frankfurt — I choose my routes so that I can avoid the heavy traffic — and in Germany we have a lot of bike lanes. Where do you live, @cyberspace?

I agree with you @Sevv.