Question Regarding Spikes (Are Brief and Transient Loud Sounds Close to Your Ear Damading?)

[Nathalie]

Hey everyone I was wondering whether tinnitus spikes or new sounds (sometimes accompanied by a feeling of fullness and muffled hearing, often excruciating ear pain inside of the ear) appearing after exposed to very loud noises or someone shouting into your ear for a few seconds for instance, is it an indication of further hearing damage or just a shock to the ear which needs time to calm down?

I am talking about music, shouts, screams, things falling etc. Basically every possible loud sound. Are loud sounds close into your ear damaging even if the exposure is transient and brief? Where do we draw the line?

 

[Michael Leigh]

1 ) I believe if a person takes care of their hearing by not using headphones, earphones, earbuds to listen to audio even at low volume they should be alright. Some people use this equipment without any problems but I don't advise it, especially when the tinnitus was caused by loud noise.
2) Wearing ear protection in very noisy ennviroments: clubs and at concerts then they should be alright although nothing is one hundred percent safe.

 

[SilverSpiral]

There is no definite answer at the moment.