Passed by an Ambulance with Sirens On — Now My Tinnitus Is Spiking

Yesterday I was riding my bicycle when I was suddenly passed by an ambulance with sirens on. I was riding within a group so I kinda could not stop immediately to cover my ears. I was able to cover the ear facing towards the ambulance though. The ambulance was really close, like 1.5-2 m away and passing at a fairly high speed (at least 60-70 km/h). I immediately felt the noise „sting“ in my left (uncovered) ear.

My tinnitus has spiked a fair amount and seems to be much more intrusive and audible „above“ other noises now.

I researched a bit and found that ambulances in Germany can be up to 127 dB at 1.5 m distance with an average of 109 dB.

Given the fact that the whole event lasted maybe 0.5 seconds at peak volume (when the ambulance was right next to me) I was hoping it did not do anything but as I said today my tinnitus is much more noticeable and intrusive. I am also pretty sure it has become a bit louder but it’s hard to tell really.

I just hope it’s a temporary spike and not a permanent one. I don’t tend to have spikes that easily though so I am not sure...

 

I had a bit of an acoustic shock the other night while being a designated driver for my friend. It was downtown and noisy but not any more than normal and I got blasted in my right ear (bad one) by super loud car exhaust that kicked off all the way down the street.

Instant tinnitus spike in my head and right ear, didn't panic too much, took care of my buddy and went within my window and got a full course of Prednisone, tinnitus went down back to my new baseline around the time I started the course. Hearing test was fine too.

Maybe Prednisone?

 

I have had mixed experiences with Prednisone. It seemed to spike my tinnitus even more on 2 occasions. I had an IV course with 3x 500mg that did not do anything though - neither good nor bad.

The tinnitus is definitely louder than before. Wasn’t sure about that yesterday but now I am.

I pray it’s just a spike but I won’t know until it’s over (or not - which I don’t hope).

 

I'm obviously not a doctor but that's the only thing I'd do, I'm sure others will chime in.

Mine was up for about two days before it went down.

 

One ENT told me steroids can make tinnitus louder.

It may go down soon. Don’t panic. If you panic, it is really going to get worse.

 

To protect yourself from such encounters, I recommend using in-ear hearing aids that can filter out harmful noises. With tinnitus you just really never know when you can get ambushed by ambulances, motorbikes, dogs etc. I never leave my house without them and on a few occasions (drunk moron screaming, loud cars etc) I was grateful I had them in.

 

I did not end up taking Prednisone, I am just too scared that it will only add to the spike (as it did before).

I do take NAC 600 mg daily now, plus Curcumin 288 mg, 400 mg Magnesium and some vitamin C and Zinc.

My sleep has been impacted by this spike unfortunately. I wake up a few times at night but at least I can get back to sleep fairly quick. I also don’t need masking sounds at night as I am pretty used to the noise in my head for years. It does bother me a lot more now though.

I also noticed that I developed another tinnitus sound. It’s half tonal half hissing if that makes sense.

When I had a bad tympanometry on my right ear, I had a low „refrigerator hum“ in that ear for half a year but it eventually faded. I just hope this new tone fades as well.

 

It will fade!

 

Hi Bill,

If it makes you feel any better, I've been blasted by sirens on quite a few occasions, it has never given me a permanent tinnitus increase.

Remember, exposure time makes a huge difference, so an ambulance passing by at high speed would have only been seconds and really not long enough to have any long lasting impact on your tinnitus x

I'm a big NAC fan also, I take it anytime I have a 'noise incident'.

 

I agree with @Johan001 and believe hearing aids should be worn because you could be exposed to loud noises anytime. Although I haven't got mine yet, my audiologist referred me to them. Good hearing aids block out loud noises.

 

Hey Rhea,

I initially also thought that it can’t possibly have been long enough to actually hurt my ear. But it seems it did anyway. It’s day 7 after the incident and i still have a very loud hissing sound in my left ear. The fact that it’s only in the left ear makes me pretty sure that it’s actual damage and not only a spike but who knows?

I do cope better already but I’d reward that to my brains experience with habituating to tinnitus. Still I’d rather the new sound to go away again. I‘ll just keep taking my supplements and hope for the best.

 

Update Day 10 after the incident:

Spike has not gone down at all. Actually, I feel it has even increased in the last 2 days. I have taken NAC for 7 days now, will stop it today to see if that might have caused the further increase.

During the day I can cope quite well, but the nights, especially when going to bed and waking up really suck...

Still hoping it will at least go down a little bit though.

 

For me Deflazacort works better than Prednisone. Check with your doctor and maybe you could give it a try next time...

As for bicycles, I try to avoid riding my bicycle near traffic, and always wear foam earplugs... You still will be able to hear loud sound through the earplugs and you ears will have some protection. Anyway, it's always best not to be close to noise. Those incidents (ambulance, loud motorbikes etc) happen, though..

 

Did it die down?

 

@Bill_, I see you have created numerous treads throughout the year asking for advice from others. It would be great if you could also provide some closure at the end of your questions whether your spikes went down or not.

 

Wearing hearing aids outside is not a good idea. And if your ears are already damaged, even a second of exposure to a loud noise can spike your tinnitus. Wear earplugs. I have been ambushed by loud sounds many times, leading to permanent worsening. I wish I had known to use earplugs.