Poll: Which Is More Harmful? 5 Minutes @ 100 dB WITHOUT Earplugs vs 1 Hour @ 100 dB WITH Earplugs?

Please vote in the poll.

 

First of you can't give a sensibel answer to this question, because you could go from - 9 dB to -30 dB in the earplug-world..
Let's say, they are heavy duty, and a really nice fit or custom plugs. And you get up to -25 dB protection.
Than you'd be exposed to 75 dB over an hour, which is safe for a lot of people.
100 dB for 5 minutes is much more energy, it would be the same as 97 for 10 minutes, 94 for 20 minutes.
And would be the equivalent of 85 decibel for 2.5 hours.

So, unless you use - 9 dB plugs, or are using plugs in the wrong way. The first option is more harmful.

Now, decibels get thrown around here and it's always hard to measure, but 100 dB is about the maximum most decent concerts are (peaks could be higher), at least in a country with some form of law.
Still way too loud though.

 

I agree with @JurgenG and would like to add: It is constantly worrying over sound levels and hearing protection that builds up an impenetrable wall of negativity. If not kept in check, it can almost be impossible to tear down and can cause a lot discontent and misery. It sad to see this @Apocalypse77 because you were doing so well the other day, or so you relayed to me. Please try and divert your attention away from this and get along with enjoying your life. Your auditory system will let you know when situations are not ideal. If you listen to it you'll be just fine. By all means carry earplugs on your person and use them if necessary but don't let them rule your life as it instils the belief that you have a problem and you don't.

Michael

 

Good poll. Like your question.

 

This type of mental anguish is not necessary. I'd avoid both situations if i can and not waste my time polling....

 

I take it as a educational poll. Why avoid both situations. Both are bad for your ears I guess. Michael did say sounds travels thru your bone. Scary.

 

I totally agree with what you are saying. In general both situations should be avoided. The problem here is that the OP dwells on these things and it just creates more stress and anxiety for him....

 

Most of us would prefer this impenetrable wall to screaming T that is a likely outcome if you don't worry about the things that can give you screaming T.

 

I agree. I wish there was an option "both are the same and should be avoided unless I want to make my body uninhabitable"

 

@Bill Bauer
I believe you are trying to help people and this is a good thing but, on this issue and some others that you promote you're mistaken. It is the constant monitoring of tinnitus and the overuse of hearing protection that causes anxiety, fear and negative thinking in many people new tinnitus and it is not healthy in the long term. @Apocalypse77 was doing quite well for he told me so a couple of weeks ago, after been absent from this forum for many days. He stopped obsessing over tinnitus, hyperacusis, spikes and overly using hearing protection. It is for this reason I have advised him to divert his attention elsewhere and get along with his life instead of reinforcing negative thinking about hearing protection. A few members have contacted me about this and mentioned people in this forum whose advice they have followed and have now developed, phonophobia and misophonia. For this reason I wrote my post: The complexities of tinnitus and hyperacusis https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-complexities-of-tinnitus-and-hyperacusis.25733/

I stand by what I say. One needs to be careful of subjecting themselves to overly loud sounds and environments but it is not necessary, to become obsessed over it because it often causes other problems.

Michael

 

Why should the second situation be avoided? I do avoid it now, but logic tells me it's fine.

Except that it's not the same..

 

They can easily avoid H by watching TV every day at moderate volume.

A phobia of loud sounds is bad when the sufferer is a healthy person who has no reason to worry about sounds. However, when the sound can give you screaming T, succeeding in developing an ability to instinctively want to stay away from noises is Wonderful.

 

You are speaking for yourself and this may well be true for you. Many of your comments about using hearing protection promotes anxiety and fear in people for I have been told this. I don't wish to go further so please lets end this discussion on this particular issue now.

Take care
Michael

 

@Michael Leigh @JurgenG the reason I am posting this is because, we started watching some documentary in school and It was pretty loud, I tried to get used to the sound so I did not plugs my ears right away. I listened about 10 seconds then I gave up and plugged my ears. After about 4 mins I took my phone from my pocket (stopped plugging my ears) and messaged my mom to call me. She called me and I left the class and went home. I was there for about 8 mins. I don't know how loud it was, I would guess around 90 decibels. I could talk to my friend with a normal voice, not whispering, with a normal voice like how you would talk to a friend when a car passes by you know.

This is the third day and my T is so loud, I am getting really scared. I am glad I didn't stay there for the whole time. Tomorrow i got the class again, I will skip it tomorrow and maybe even quit the class bye now, hope i will get some support these two months have been hard

 

It is ok to be fearful of scary things.

Can't you ask the teacher to keep the volume of the video down?

 

It will probably end up being temporary, this time (even though it sounds like this is the twenty fifth time that something like this had happened). I believe that if you keep allowing your body to be abused, eventually the spike will end up being permanent.

 

Please don't push me Bill because you will make me say things that you will not like. I don't swear but when I've finished you may regret your persistence. Now please leave this alone.

All the best
Michael

 

Your anxiety seems to be getting the best of you. Please find a counselor/therapist and sit down with one......and talk things out. Your anxiety is brutal and it wreaks havoc on your tinnitus. Unless you control this, it will be very hard to live a life that has tinnitus centered around it. I say this in a caring way of course, you need to get a grip on your stress/anxiety...

 

Hey man sorry to hear.
I do believe it could have been pretty loud, for YOU, but I doubt it could be more than 90 dB, and the difference between 90 and 100 is HUGE.
No point in comparing them.

If you were able to talk to someone in a normal voice it will probably be far less.
No one else reacted on the sound I guess?

You are most likely experiencing a spike, give your ears some rest.
But most likely driven by fear and H, so it's important to deal with these things.
You'll probably be fine soon!

 

@Apocalypse77 please follow the advice @fishbone has given you.

I hope that you start to feel better soon.
Michael

 

It had never been my intention to try to push anyone's buttons. I had simply shared my opinion with the others.

 

That's true (one is 10 times louder than the other), but 90 dB is still enough to cause a T spike.

Yes, the sound that the healthy people won't even notice, can cause a lifetime of regret for people like us.

LOL He is experiencing a spike because of being exposed to the sound that "no one else reacted to."

 

I know that Bill and I have respect for you and it's something I don't give easily. You have class unlike some I have encountered here. I have some strong beliefs about tinnitus, hyperacusis and the use and overuse of hearing protection. In addition to this. Phonophobia and misophonia are real and can be caused by the overuse of hearing protection and causes anxiety and fear. I counsel people occasionally and used to counsel someone that was deeply affected by hyperacusis and wouldn't leave her home and eventually started showing symptoms of phonophobia. When one hears someone crying down a telephone because of the distress they are in with: tinnitus, hyperacusis and fear of sound, it's hard not to feel for these people.

Michael

 

I believe that back when I had H, I had some phonophobia. Watching TV at the loudest volume I could watch it at for several hours without having any consequences, seems to have cured my H. Once H was gone, so was my phonophobia (except for my commitment to stay away from loud noises whenever I can do so).

 

Tinnitus affects people differently but the majority of people that suffer noise trauma to their auditory system and develop tinnitus and hyperacusis. They are looking at up to 2 years to make a full recovery. To achieve this professional help may be required. This means seeing a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist for treatment and management of tinnitus and hyperacusis. If a person is fortunate they may not need to go this route.

Michael

 

@Apocalypse77 ,
I hope your ears settle down for you and have a better day tomorrow.
We are here for you...
It's a bit of a hard time for me at the minute and need a bit of time get through it.
Love glynis x

 

Usually 5-minutes 100db should not be harmful: http://dangerousdecibels.org/education/information-center/decibel-exposure-time-guidelines/
I wonder whether different frequencies should not be judged differently. Is 100db 10kHz the same as 100db 100 Hz

 

Those guidelines are for healthy people.

Guidelines for healthy people would state that a healthy person can run a marathon and be ok. But if you had broken a leg sometime within the past 2 years, then doing this activity (that is said to be ok for healthy people) would result in a lot of pain for you. If you keep doing that activity then eventually you will cause serious damage to yourself.

 

Hi Bill,
you seem to be convinced that noise is the source of all tinnitus malady.
What do you say to patients who got their tinnitus after whiplash trauma of the cervical spine?
Noise trauma is not the only cause of tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a much more complex problem.....

 

I think that once something in there gets irritated - we get T. Then we ought to try to avoid other things that can cause further irritation. In other words, someone with noise-induced T ought to try to avoid taking ototoxic medication as well as getting a whiplash trauma. [I am the first to admit that the above is just a model that makes sense to me, which is of course not a very scientific way of forming a model.]