Noise Trauma, Suicidal, Help

Something really terrible happened to me yesterday. A very loud acoustic trauma. I feel my hearing has become distorted and reduced.

ENT appointment on Friday. Is it possible to recover from an acute noise trauma?

My tinnitus has gotten so much worse and now hearing issues as well.

I am honestly shocked and I feel this will lead me to suicide.

I cannot believe I let this happen to me. I fucking hate myself.

 

What happened?

 

I'm about in the same boat as you, but what cause your acoustic trauma ? I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Try and stay calm.


I'm wishing you positive results


Louie

Quitatnight

 

Magnetic stimulation of the neck muscles with a machine that produced terribly loud sounds for several minutes... I should have run away the moment it started. I just sat there like an idiot not considering the possible consequences. There is no ear pain, only fullness, muffled hearing and distortion. Fuck me I deserve to fucking die. I am gonna kill my shitty worthless self. I don't deserve better for being that stupid.

 

After acoustic trauma, you could try the following products to limit the hearing loss: http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2012/5/Strategies-Protect-Preserve-Your-Hearing/Page-02

And your trauma does not mean the effects you experience now are permanent. They might fade away after a couple of days/weeks.

+ You learned now that you should really protect your hearing. Always have ear plugs with you in case you get exposed to loud sounds. I have made similar mistakes in the past (being incautious wich lead to a spike in T) but now I am paying attention to avoid such situations in the future.

 

Could it have really been that loud? Maybe stimulating your neck muscles has stimulated your nerves.

 

Don't do nothing silly and calm down as the anxiety will make it worse.
See your doctor asap as might prescribe Prednisalone to help calm any inflamation down...lots of love glynis

 

Nathalie


It's very likely that you will recover from this, so please try and stay calm. You might want to stop these Magnetic stimulation's in the future, and stay away from loud sounds for awhile give your ears a chance to heal.


Good Luck and hang in there ....



Louie

Quietatnight

 

Hi Nathalie.

I am in a very similar situation at the moment. I experienced loud acoustic trauma twice recently, and I really fear what damage it may have done. I'm also having those suicidal thoughts, especially as I have a lot of self blame and self hate for letting myself experience noise exposure twice (they were both very avoidable in hindsight)

After the first spike it took 5 days for my T to settle down - so give yourself some time, ears take time to heal. (I did feel some hearing loss, but they settled as well)
What has helped me is sharing with a select group of close friends that I am having these dark thoughts and suffering, and luckily they are supportive and understanding.

Anything you can do to calm yourself, chamomile Tea, meditation, speaking with loved ones, having a big ol cry.

I went to Urgent Care (and ER) out of panic, and I wish I had asked for Prednisone at that time. I'm not sure how effective Prednisone is for your situation, but I would do some research on these forums, and consider going into Urgent Care and asking for a prescription. And also Let them know you are having panic attacks and suicidal thoughts, and see if you can get prescriptions for Xanax or something they can help calm you down and sleep.

Having a good night's rest can have great impact on your mood, and help you get through the day.

 

It's possible that it recovers on its own, but nothing is guaranteed.
Some people believe NAC can help, others that steroids can help.
In any case, it seems time is of the essence in treating the acute phase. Maybe try and consult with a doctor at your earliest convenience.

 

I would get on prednisone and NAC as soon as you can. I suffered acute acoustic trauma and ended up with severe sensorineural hearing loss with my 2-4k hertz at 80 db. I literally was not functional. Fortunately, I was able to get myself on a dose of prednisone within 4 hours, then continued it for a total of 14 days. My hearing isn't normal by any means, but at least I'm functional and my frequencies other than 2-4k hertz are essentially normal.

This obviously isn't to say that I wouldn't have recovered without prednisone and NAC, but with all the literature that I've searched, I think I was on the upper end of decibels recovered in the setting of acute acoustic trauma.

 

Feeling very similar right now. I feel like my life is over. I have a young family and i am freaking out and feel like im in shock. I just want help from anyone. I feel so alone.

 

Hey Nathalie,

You are still well within the window of what is called "temporary threshold shift" with regards to hearing loss. What has happened is that the loud noises have stressed the cells inside of your inner ear, and they are currently inflamed. This may last for up to 72 hours while the hair cells have responded to the noise, but it can go back to normal. Any accompanying increases in tinnitus can also diminish, much in the same way (and, actually, over a longer period of time).

The fact of the matter is that you are in an transient phase and it is very unlikely that your ears will stay this way. Please don't take any permanent actions over a temporary problem.

My tinnitus is also self-inflicted, and the hardest part for me was getting over the regret of having put myself in a situation where I damaged myself permanently. We are here for you in all parts of the world at all hours of the day, don't hesitate to reach out if you need support.

 

I called my ENT earlier today and spoke of the incident, however she didn't say anything about the steroids when I asked if there was some sort of medication to prescribe that could benefit me.

Thank you everyone for your support.

I also get spontaneous tinnitus sounds in my ears that have different pitches and frequencies every time they occur.

 

This is a good sign - it means things are moving!

 

I guess there is no point of steroids anyway anymore because the trauma happened more than after 24 hours and tomorrow it will be 48 hours. Where I live it is 2AM right now and I cannot call my doctor. I feel so bad with awful vertigo, nausea and dizziness. I feel like vomiting but I haven't thrown up yet. The ringing is going worse and worse and I feel my hearing is deteriorating with every passing minute. What should I do? I live with my parents and they are sleeping right now. I don't know whether they could take me to the emergency room at the moment. Does anyone have any suggestions based on experience?

I will try to reach my doc again in the morning to ask about steroids. Is there a specific window for steroids administered after trauma?

I am afraid it is too late. Is there any scientific proof for the efficacy of steroids?

Where can I get NAC? What is it exactly?

 

You can use cortozone within 48 hours, I wouldn't wait until Friday. Is there an emergency ENT in any hospital? Or an ENT that can see you tomorrow?

 

There isn't a clinical consensus on the efficacy of steroids for NIHL, however, there is an oft cited study published in 2011 that shows results suggesting that it may help: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3102156/

Because the results are clinically insignificant and there was no control group, however, it means little in the medical community.

My suggestion to you is to try your best to stay calm. If you need sleeping pills or anti-anxiety medication, then you should proceed that route. If going to the doctor and attempting to get prednisone would help you relax, then I would go to the doctor (side effect of prednisone is anxiety - for what it's worth). I know it is an impossible task, but take anything that you think will give you positive thoughts during this time and run with it.

If you do believe that your hearing is continuing to degrade, I would call an ENT office tomorrow and explain your circumstance. A fast degradation of hearing is generally considered serious and you may be able to get a sooner appointment.

 

Hi Nathalie,

The first step in dealing with any situation is to not lose control - keep cool, calm, and collected. If you snap your fingers besides each ear, can you hear the sound? If so, you are fine.

Regarding loudness, mine fluctuates. Sometimes it is very quiet and other times it's not. If I don't get a good night's rest for example, it will be louder. One technique I use is to associate the sound with something you like. For example, in my case, I associate the sound to crickets... like a hot July night with the windows open...

 

Until it finally goes away try stay calm, in quiet places, avoid caffeine and smoking. Also don't use phone in your affected ear! Complex B vitamins would help to enhance acoustic nerve.

 

At your pharmacist, normally without prescription. Its called (n )-acetyl-cysteine.

 

Terrible panic attack. Heart is racing and I am sweating. I feel like my hearing is getting worse and worse. I feel like fucking shit for going to that stupid procedure. The sound was so loud and I didn't do anything, I hate myself so much. I sure as hell have damaged my ears permanently, no improvement only getting worse and more distorted. I am going deaf...I am so afraid to go to the doctor on Friday to find out I have caused severe irreversible damage to myself. Oh my god this is the end. I cannot believe this is really happening...

 

Pls don't swear.

 

Please understand what I am going through. I cannot believe I let this happen.

Oh my god I am gonna kill myself

 

B.I.T.C.H.

 

Hi, don't do anything stupid because there is every chance things will improve, even if you don't feel like it right now x

Go wake your parents so they can support you x

Try and stay calm and let time pass because this will get better. Your panic will make it seem worse.

Let me know if you want to talk xxx

 

I am honestly terrified to find out how loud the TMS machines can be. I am in utter shock I wasn't given any hearing protection. I felt it was extremely loud but being the idiot that I am I didn't leave the place and now I got what stupidity deserves. My hearing is probably fucked up for good. I am scared to tell my mom the entire truth because she will be so upset for ruining my health and letting that kind of awful thing happen to me. The sound was so loud no wonder my ears didn't survive. I don't even wanna know. Anyone else ever undergone magnetic stimulation of the neck? Did you wear hearing protection? Oh my dear lord, what have I done...

My mother is so tired and fatigued of all this happening to me. She cannot believe I have been so stupid...I can't as well. I destroyed my own life and hearing.

My ears hurt so bad too :O

 

Don't kill yourself!! Get some benzodiazepines to get over this panic you know

 

It may well be nowhere as loud as you are thinking it is in your current panicked state.

Time, you need to give yourself time. I've had noise exposure s and t increases that I thought would never go and I'd ruined myself....only to find a week or so later things improved x

Time, calm as you can, NAC which you can get without prescription from a pharmacy ..
..wait it out and don't beat yourself up...
Your only human and we all.make mistakes.

Wake you mum so she can support you x

 

The bad thing is it is not only T increase but my hearing has deteriorated. I c an feel it ans everything sounds distorted. It is not possible for ears to heal after very loud noise which makes it even harder. If only our ears could heal like the rest of the body

There is no cure for inner ear damage...why? There has to be a cure upcoming in the future...

Every passing second drives me closer to killing myself for real.. I don't know what to do. I don't have any Xanax or anything