Odd Theory — Connection Between Hearing Protection and Tinnitus Spikes?

This may sound bizarre, but from what I gather, most tinnitus is caused by shock to the auditory system.

For example, this is why people with gradual hearing loss don't have tinnitus that much despite losing hearing, compared to people who have shot guns, attended concerts etc and have tinnitus with mild hearing loss - because the system was put in shock.

I've noticed people on here that protect their hearing a lot seem to suffer from a lot of spikes too. Could this be that our brain has a sort of tinnitus shock threshold? Like if a noise is over a certain decibel then it will cause a spike as a result of this shock?

I've spoken to a few people who rarely protect, and with fairly loud noises they don't get any spike at all, could this be that exposing themselves to normal sound has raised their threshold so the brain doesn't get shocked by these sounds?

I don't know if this is stupid or no, and I don't wan to insult anyone. But I noticed it was the same with me. When I first got T and i protected, my tinnitus would change a lot. Now I only protect in loud situations say over 85db for a long exposure, and I only get temporary spikes if anything which go away after a sleep. It's more anxiety related for me though I think.

Perhaps some people's is just more reactive then others which is why there is the need to protect, but I'm tired so I'm probably just making stuff up in my head. Any thoughts?

 

Yea my thought is I've wondered the same thing.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Everyone's tinnitus is different and some is more reactive than others. Unfortunately a one size fits all for tinnitus doesn't work. For some people plugging is necessary to manage pain.

 

Good statement, and beyond dispute, but that also doesn't invalidate what you suggested either Geg. You could well be right for some people in some cases. It may also be that some just get better over time, and their responses just change.

 

Thank you for your input! I guess that's the hardest part about managing T, everyone's is different.

 

Its a natural reaction to overprotect your ears after experiencing sound shock, what im still wondering is that if we over protect our ears, wont we deveolop Hyperacusis too?

normal sound is ok, like traffic and stuff..important thing is not to get exposed by very loud sounds for long periods, like concert, working powertools like drill, etc.

 

Over protecting the ears will make hyperacussion worse. It's a known fact. Drs tell you not to plug the ears in an effort to combat the symptoms for this fact. However some times I must resort to plugging my left ear with cotton wool for an hour or two if it's real bad - I have two kids!

 

I find it easy to plug my bad ear on a bad day, but I find it very hard after a while to unplug it. I know its the security blanket effect, and I also know that a freshly unplugged ear will be hypersensitive until the usual balance between the two ears is re-established. I don't think plugging causes H so much as it starkly reminds you you have it when you unplug. My problem is unilateral though so I can't speak for those of you suffering it in both ears.