Protecting Ears

I have been trying to protect my ears as much as possible, but it's simply IMPOSSIBLE to protect them from every loud sound.

F.E. if you're walking and a guy jumps on his motorcycle and makes a shitload of noise, you first hear it and THEN take countermeasures if necessary. Sometimes the loud sound is there only for a few seconds and putting earplugs in after it already has faded seems strange. That loud sound may not damage my hearing but it may worsen tinnitus. I am very afraid that those sounds eventually will damage my hearing if it happens repetitively though. You can't 'dodge' them because you don't always expect those sounds to come.

I am actually thinking about wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

I want to buy Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless. It seems to have damn good noise-cancelling features. I am not going to listen to music on it anyway and wearing earmuffs outside makes you look goofy lol.

My question is, what instruments can protect your ears (earplugs are a hassle to put in) and are good from your experience. What type of earmuff or noise-cancelling headphone?

Thanks in advance.

 

The Bose QuietConfort 35 II works really well, much much better than earplugs and much more comfortable than ear muffs. However the fact that it cancels by generating a sound of same loudness but opposite in polarity to the external noise makes me think twice about using it. The logical me knows the sound entering the ear would be much reduced and should cause no harm. But tinnitus is irrational and you can't think logically.

 

They're really not that good for sudden loud sounds and can't be trusted to offer much real protection. They're good for constant background noise, particularly at the lower frequencies, such as on a plane.

 

For a sudden loud vehicle the best is to just close you ear canal by pressing on the tragus with both fingers and be ready to do so with free hands

When I anticipate walking into noisy surroundings or commute etc I always keep my peltor earmuffs in hands ready to be put on, this is much faster and safer than earplugs

Active noise canceling only works for a contant noise like inside a car or aircraft

 

That is correct.

It's not irrational: we just don't understand it well. One day we will, and it will all make sense, like so many other mysteries of this world.

 

tinnitus gets worse if hearing is damaged.

a consistent theme (but not always) is that the louder the tinnitus is the more hearing loss the individual has.

 

This is exactly what I did when hearing that sound. But obviously the sound wave shock had already entered my right ear.

I felt a little pain and even felt that pain extending to my right jaw. Some motor cycly faggot decided to turn up the volume.

My T has not been affected by it, but it happened yesterday so it's too early to tell.

 

Doesn't apply to me unfortunately. I barely had loss if at all and my T was horrifying at the start. Got better after 3 months or so.

 

Why not?

 

Because the noise cancelling is not able to cancel out sudden loud noises effectively. It's not quick enough I suppose. Also the passive sound attenuation of the headphones is pretty weak in my opinion. I wear them here and there, because they are better than nothing. But I wouldn't wear them in situations that really require ear protection.

 

But then I guess you're always at a risk. What more could I have done than blocking my ears instantly after hearing the motor cycle faggot? I hope that I don't have any damage in that right ear.

Or I could wear ear muffs 24/7?

 

Blocking your ears is better than noise cancelling headphones.
I have had incidences just like yours. Really hate some ignorant and careless people.

 

Why are you so keen to buy $120+ ear protection that is inferior as opposed to $20-50 ear protection that is more helpful? Just buy some ear muffs. Or don't.

I'm too nervous to use the tragus technique myself after developing tinnitus in my right ear immediately after using it. It may have been a coincidence but I prefer using ear muffs nowadays.

 

Fair enough, but that sound was there for 2 to 3 seconds at most. I am talking about those kinds of sounds where you can not anticipate for it to happen and thus can't really be alert for it. Blocking my ears with the tragus was all I could do. Getting an ear muff out of my back pocket and put it over my ears would take 3 seconds and the sound would be gone by then. Idem with earplugs.

I did feel pressure in my ear using the tragus technique and my right ear does hurt a little. I'll go to my ENT to check whether my eardrum is fine or not.

My T has not been affected by it, fortunately (it became louder for 5 minutes after the fact and then suddenly crashed to its normal intensity level.) I guess it's too soon to know whether my T is affected by it because it happened on Sunday.

I have Alpine Earplugs and I'll put them in before I go outside. Thousands of people who put ear-in-phones of their MP-3 players before they go outside and they're fine. Using Earplugs to protect my hearing won't have any disadvantages. I tried it today and I liked it. The traffic noise sounded less intrusive.

I will buy ear muffs though because they're rather cheap. I'll use those at home when it gets loud lol.

 

But ear buds don't go all the way inside the ear canal. Ear plugs do. At least the foam ones do. I've never tried the Alpine. Do they also go inside the ear canals? I'm a bit concerned about getting bacteria in my ears or impacted ear wax which is why I haven't used ear plugs.

I'm also concerned about sudden loud noises. I got hit with one today and I'm still in mid-freak out over it.

 

Yes, they do go inside the ear canal indeed. Ear in phones also go pretty far in your ear (not as far as earplugs though).

Good thing you mentioned it, I actually have to clean them yet. Haven't done it since I bought them. I did get a tool to clean them though but was too lazy to do it so far.

The reason I want to protect my ears when being outside is the following:
1. I never went to clubs, football matches and sports events, concerts in my life (not even once)
2. Never used MP-3 players up to and including 23 years of age (too poor to buy them lol)
3. Never used fireworks (not even once) and always stayed at home during those nights (never liked to waste money on that stuff)
4. Never did anything to get hearing loss and was super aware of getting hearing damage

I still got Tinnitus, so

1. it is either genetic or
2. due to repetitive noise from my environment (traffic, people shouting) it accumulated to damage because I might be super sensitive to hearing damage (perhaps the susceptibility for getting damage is genetic).

Shitty genetics won't really surprise (though I do have a supranormal hearing [a lot of minus 10 to +5 dB hearing thresholds according to two hearing tests] and I want to preserve my hearing).

In my opinion, the Alpine Earplugs simply take off the edge of all sounds. It reduces them by 15 dB (just based on my feeling and not scientific data or anything alike). So even 85 dB sounds might go in your ear at 70 dB which is a big change in intensity.

 

A few seconds to put on ear muffs? I hang them on my wrist when I go outside because I need to use them at least a few times every time I step outside. Urban area with lots of sirens, motorcycles, trains, and low flying planes.

I guess I just don't get your insistence on using earbuds and headphones, designed to play music when you could be using something designed specifically to protect your ears. Shrug.

 

Why are you so keen on insulting language Eren101

 

You mean the "motor cycle faggot."

Southpark once dubbed motor cyclists who make excessive noise for no reason as "faggots" and I just copied it.

Second, I am pissed at that guy. I guess that's why. I don't mind if someone wants to destroy his own hearing, just don't drag others along with your damaging lifestyle as well.

 

I guess I could try that.

I never said I was going to use earbuds to protect hearing. Why should I? I have earplugs and I use those occasionally. I have ordered ear muffs so I'll try those as well. I just think those look silly on you when you wear them outside compared to earplugs that are barely visible (unless someone takes a good look).

 

There is a thread that talks about ear muffs that look like headphones. Have a look through the search function. The TT search bar is quite handy.

 

I hope someday you learn of the physiological pain words can inflict onto others. May I offer a suggestion to search for a better vocabulary, since this word is very offensive to a great number of people, as much so as other words specifically designated to belittle individuals and groups as well.

While I agree with your “pissed” at the guy, I’m sure he didn’t start off his day thinking how can I hurt Eren1. Noise pollution IS a major problem, not only in the streets of the developed world but inside most all entertainment establishments as well. I try to make a difference, the best I can by bringing this to the attention of managers etc, showing them a dB meter with their readings, but most could care less at this point. It will take ALL of us together to start making a difference, whether it’s a motorcycle or just wanting to eat out at noise levels below 100.

In the meantime, I wish you the best in your search for help from others.

Best to you

 

Can't you wear earplugs in places where there is a higher than average chance of you being exposed to noise?

I place plugs that I find to be very comfortable into the entrance of my ear canals, and wear Bose 25 NC headphones over that. This way I can be sure that Bose won't make my T worse.

Not if you do it before you get to a place where you might encounter noise.

Peltor X5A are supposed to be the best muffs. They are bulky though, and if that bothers you, you can wear X4A.

It seems to me that some places are more "high risk" than others (and it is a good idea to protect your ears in those places. For example, grocery store entrances (metal carts clanking), busy streets, small rooms with metal doors that might slam, etc. If you spend a week at a place (i.e. your workstation) and you never encounter any disturbing noises, it makes sense to not wear any ear protection there (but still keep earmuffs close by, in case the fire alarm goes off).

 

Thanks, I ordered the Alpine MusicSafe ear muffs. Perhaps I'll buy the Peltor X4A as well (it's rather cheap, so why not). This way, I can try what's best and most comfortable for me without spending much money.

Since Sunday, I just put my Alpine earplugs in my ear before leaving my house. Today, I went to my ENT and my eardrum is fine. In hindsight, I think that noise of the motorcycle (though loud) wasn't THAT loud. My ear does hurt though (most likely because I pressed the tragus of my ears after hearing that loud sound). This incidence, unfortunately, was one that I could not foresee. Normally, it's not a very noise polluted environment where it happened.

Another strange observation of mine is the following. Sirens of police cars, ambulances etc. never bothered me before and my hearing was above average as a kid as well. Since T kicked in, it seems I am a little more sensitive to loud sounds such as sirens and cinemas. Two possibilities: 1) I have a mild case of hyperacusis and according to my ENT my audiogram shows a perfect profile for someone with hyperacusis. 2) I am extra paranoid about not getting more damage and am super stressed if I hear any loud sound.

If you ask me, I honestly think it's a mild form of hyperacusis. I'll keep an eye on it and will protect as much as possible.

 

My plugs of choice are
https://www.amazon.com/3M-1100-Foam-Plugs-Pair/dp/B0067NKCO8/
They are comfortable, and they feel like they provide a lot of protection. They also seem to provide almost all of the original protection even after I reuse them for a week or two.

It sounds like that is the case. H tends to get better within 6-12 months. It makes sense to give your ears a rest and a chance to recover and to do your best to minimize your exposure to loud noises for at least a year or two.

 

I read you wear Alpine, I got some of those as well on my keychain. I know of one Alpine plug that comes with 3 different filters, low, medium and high, its also an idea to have different strengths of earplugs with you and perhaps wear the lighter ones outside for example. Im talking about these: www.alpinehearingprotection.com/earplugs/musicsafe-pro

I myself wear elektronic hearing protection (the protection kicks in above 85db sound level but keep normal hearing active as if you are not wearing anything up to that point). I got these from Etymotic Research: https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/mp915.html
They came out like 3 years ago so this is brand new tech here. The previous model was way bigger and looked like antenna sticking out of your ears.
I use my plugs with big foam plugs for maximum isolation and wear them at noisy environments like today I did bowling and lasergaming and wore these the entire time, they seem to be working quite well and I can also understand normal conversations with them. I tried a whole bunch of passive ones but they just make me sitting alone in a soundless bubble al the time without being able to talk much, soo I quit those.
As a side note, these elektronic ones have some issues when im cycling outside with a lot of wind, the wind noise gets enhanced which is somewhat loud, but not wearing them and someone honking right besides you is also quite uncomfortable for me at the moment... so im still figuring out if I should have passive plugs for outside or think of a DIY sollution to wear these outside. Besides that I would recommend the Etymotic Music Pro elektronic earplugs (with foam tips) in noisy environments where you don't wanna plug your passive earplugs in and out 20x a day.