Noise-Induced Tinnitus from Loud Rock Concert... (My Story)

Hello!
I'm 21 and I went to this kickass rock concert (early July) with my friends. Now I'm a musician, and I've been to many gigs and concerts before, and I've always protected my ears, but on this occasion I really messed up...
I forgot my earplugs in my backpack, but I decided to try my luck without them. We were positioned about 10-15 meters from the stage and it was loud as hell! It was a club gig.

My ears weren't hurting at all, but it was really uncomfortable. About Twenty-forty minutes of that, and I found a small room where they sold earplugs, put them on immediately After the gig my hearing wasn't all that muffled, but oh boy the ringing! I heard what people spoke, and I could had a conversation, but his T that has developed since, has been with me for little over three weeks now. I'm beginning to worry! I have a whole life ahead of me and a grad school to finish! Nights have been the worst, I really need to focus out of my T to get some sleep. When I play sports, I barely notice it, but whenever I'm in "silence", all I hear is this damned ringing. I would rate the loudness 5 or 6 out of 10. I work as a part-time call center worker, so I'm fearful it will make my T worse.

I've read that it is a possibility that noise induced T can lessen significantly within 2 years. I can take that, but then there are these horror stories of T being in there for the rest of life! I found this forum, and it is nice to know that I am not alone in this... I'm just beginning to fear that this is a battle that I can't keep on for much longer. Should I go see an ENT or audiologist? Do I have hope?

I learned a valuable lesson here, better safe than sorry!

 

Yes. They may prescribe prednisone.

Yes.

 

Your tinnitus is very new! it will take a good amount of time to get use to it, but do know that it is not the end of the world. You are expeirencing mild tinnitus, it is annoying but it could be much worst. Since this is new to you, your system is in shock and that is understandable.

Possibly go see an ENT and maybe an audiologist. Protect your ears and avoid loud places. Certain meds can annoy your tinnitus and avoid people that do not understand your situation...

 

Welcome @Tuomas . There is hope! Many people have found relief. Many have learned to cope with and/or habituate to their tinnitus. Seek out the success stories on this forum. You will find numerous examples of people either finding relief or learning to cope. Either way, their quality of life is far greater than they imagined it would ever have been when their tinnitus first appeared.

Hang in there, it will get better.

 

Chances are your T will get better within 2-3 months. Try to protect your ears from moderately loud noises.

Also, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/

 

@Tuomas when i saw your name and location i immediately thought of Nightwish, my favourite band.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of T. Protect your hearing, seriously! You did good by getting some earplugs, as I that is something that I didn't do. Still, be mindful when you play music. It will take a while for your ears to heal but if it wasn't that long that you put your ears through the noise it should subside in a few months.

 

Thank you all so much for your support! This forum is very kind and informative. A little update: My T has lowered by VERY LITTLE! It is not that bad when I have something to do, but on nights it still is little irritating. I'm now coping with it. If it stays like this then it stays like this. I'm focused on living my life normally.

@Sam Bridge Very good Guess! I like Nightwish but it wasn't Nightwish. That remains to be mystery...

Until again!

 

My first battle with T was 12 years ago. Very loud power equipment. My T was super loud, but it completely faded in 18 months. I am in my second bout with T, from an outdoor concert. I am 10 months in and have had at least a 75% reduction in my T. My guess is you will see significant improvement over the next 12 months. T can and usually does fade, but it easily takes 6-18 months or more. I know there members who's T is permanent, but most one time noise induced T has significant improvement over the first 12-18 months.
T was/is the most difficult thing I had to go through in my life. IMO you will get better

 

@jjflyman did you get your hearing tested? If so, did you have any hearing loss?

 

Did not get my hearing tested, but I have not noticed any hearing loss. My hearing is good.

 

Thank you for this post. It gives me a little a hope that my spike will fade again.

 

Hi Tuomas,

I got my T a year ago because of the explosion. The first week was horrendous and the first few months were not very happy times but nowadays I can manage. There are hours and maybe even a day every now and then that I forget the whole thing but of course also spikes every now and then also.

I have been in a few loud rock concerts after I got T (not during the first few months though) but since summer I have been wearing moulded earplugs (noise reduction of 25 dB) which I recommend. During some gigs the reduction has been even too much but better safe than sorry like you wrote too.

Like many people here states anxiety and stress make T worse and vice versa. Even now when I write this I can notice T much clearer so if possible try not to think about T and try to concentrate to more comfortable things in life.

By the way, I’m Finnish too so if you’d like to give a PM please feel free to do so.