For context, I have a history of mild sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. This weekend, I attended a wedding and had to fly there, so my ears were a bit plugged up with pressure throughout the trip.
On Saturday, I was exposed to about 1 to 2 hours of moderate noise, generally around 80 dB, with peaks of 90 to 95 dB for about 10 to 15 minutes due to music. I made the mistake of not wearing earplugs. Immediately after that, I was exposed to 20 to 25 minutes of wind noise because the Lyft driver had both front windows halfway down, and I was sitting in the backseat. I was too nervous to ask them to roll the windows up, but it was noticeably loud. My phone measured 70 to 80 dB, though I'm sure it was louder due to highway speeds. I didn't notice a spike or muffled hearing afterward, so I assumed it was fine and took 500 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) while resting my ears for the rest of the day, aside from normal conversation-level noise.
On Sunday, I was more careful and took another 500 mg of ALCAR before any exposure. However, I was still exposed to quite a bit of loud music for around 3.5 hours. It was about 80 dB during dinner, but during performances, it peaked at around 95 to 100 dB. There was also a lot of cheering and yelling. I left before the dancing started to give my ears time to rest. I wore 33 dB foam earplugs, but not properly, as they wouldn't go deep into my ear canals. After the event, I immediately took another 500 mg of ALCAR. I didn't notice any spike in tinnitus or a change in hearing, but while showering, my ears went muffled for a bit — which I assume was fleeting tinnitus. Because the shower was so loud, I couldn't really hear any ringing.
The next morning, my hearing still felt off, but it had been strange throughout the trip, likely due to lingering pressure from the flight. I took another 500 mg of ALCAR.
Since returning from the trip, I've been taking 500 to 1000 mg of ALCAR daily since Monday, 480 mg of Magnesium Glycinate since Monday, 600 mg of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) since Tuesday, and 300 mg of Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) since Thursday. I also took Omega-3 supplements on one of the days. NR is new to my routine, but the others I've used off and on before and after unavoidable noise exposures. Now that my ears have equalized, I think my hearing has returned to what it was before the trip, though it still doesn't feel completely normal.
How long should I continue supplementing? I'm aware there are some concerns about prolonged NAC and NR use, including possible cancer risk, so I don't want to take them longer than necessary. I'm just trying to counteract any damage that may have occurred from the weekend's noise exposure.
Also, am I being too paranoid about the car ride noise? I usually try to avoid wind noise whenever possible, but this time it was hard to prevent — although I realize I should've asked the driver to roll the windows up a bit.
Thank you!
On Saturday, I was exposed to about 1 to 2 hours of moderate noise, generally around 80 dB, with peaks of 90 to 95 dB for about 10 to 15 minutes due to music. I made the mistake of not wearing earplugs. Immediately after that, I was exposed to 20 to 25 minutes of wind noise because the Lyft driver had both front windows halfway down, and I was sitting in the backseat. I was too nervous to ask them to roll the windows up, but it was noticeably loud. My phone measured 70 to 80 dB, though I'm sure it was louder due to highway speeds. I didn't notice a spike or muffled hearing afterward, so I assumed it was fine and took 500 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) while resting my ears for the rest of the day, aside from normal conversation-level noise.
On Sunday, I was more careful and took another 500 mg of ALCAR before any exposure. However, I was still exposed to quite a bit of loud music for around 3.5 hours. It was about 80 dB during dinner, but during performances, it peaked at around 95 to 100 dB. There was also a lot of cheering and yelling. I left before the dancing started to give my ears time to rest. I wore 33 dB foam earplugs, but not properly, as they wouldn't go deep into my ear canals. After the event, I immediately took another 500 mg of ALCAR. I didn't notice any spike in tinnitus or a change in hearing, but while showering, my ears went muffled for a bit — which I assume was fleeting tinnitus. Because the shower was so loud, I couldn't really hear any ringing.
The next morning, my hearing still felt off, but it had been strange throughout the trip, likely due to lingering pressure from the flight. I took another 500 mg of ALCAR.
Since returning from the trip, I've been taking 500 to 1000 mg of ALCAR daily since Monday, 480 mg of Magnesium Glycinate since Monday, 600 mg of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) since Tuesday, and 300 mg of Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) since Thursday. I also took Omega-3 supplements on one of the days. NR is new to my routine, but the others I've used off and on before and after unavoidable noise exposures. Now that my ears have equalized, I think my hearing has returned to what it was before the trip, though it still doesn't feel completely normal.
How long should I continue supplementing? I'm aware there are some concerns about prolonged NAC and NR use, including possible cancer risk, so I don't want to take them longer than necessary. I'm just trying to counteract any damage that may have occurred from the weekend's noise exposure.
Also, am I being too paranoid about the car ride noise? I usually try to avoid wind noise whenever possible, but this time it was hard to prevent — although I realize I should've asked the driver to roll the windows up a bit.
Thank you!
