Rescue Protocol After Noise Exposure?

[withintention]

I'm wondering what people recommend as a "rescue" protocol after noise exposure to reduce hearing loss and tinnitus.

I currently use NAC. Do people recommend steroids, and if so, which ones? Is there anything else that might help?

I've had severe unilateral tinnitus for over a year and usually use a headset on my "good" ear. Four days ago, the volume was way too high when I put the headset on, and I got about half a second of what seemed like more than 100 decibels. Now I'm starting to hear ringing in my good ear.

 

[Pseudonymmed]

NAC, NAD, Resveratrol, and Magnesium have all shown some promise in studies on noise exposure. Antioxidants in general are not a bad idea. It is important to avoid any further noise exposure.

Corticosteroids like Prednisone can potentially help, but they must be taken as soon as possible. After a few days, the likelihood of them helping is greatly reduced. They also carry a number of potential side effects and may temporarily worsen tinnitus for some people.

 

[PeteJ]

How long should NAC and Magnesium be taken, and at what dosage?

 

[RattleKat]

I see this a lot. Steroids are absolutely brutal on the body and should not be taken lightly. They can help reduce inflammation in the inner ear to reverse hearing loss and improve thresholds after severe acoustic trauma, such as an explosion or standing in front of 130 dB speakers at a gig for hours, because those situations can cause damage to the stereocilia.

A 100 dB sound for half a second, however, isn't going to cause damage. There's no mechanism for the steroids to act on. If the hearing system were that fragile, the entire world would already be deaf. There would be no drummers, no rock musicians, and no construction workers.

In my opinion, it's more likely to be a spike caused by an overactive nervous system that has come to associate sound with danger. Not all spikes mean physical damage has occurred. I think the best approach is to try to stay calm, exercise, stay hydrated, and prioritize sleep. NAC has shown promise in preventing noise-induced hearing loss, but it won't reverse damage that has already been done.

 

[PeteJ]

I see this a lot. Steroids are absolutely brutal on the body and should not be taken lightly. They can help reduce inflammation in the inner ear to reverse hearing loss and improve thresholds after severe acoustic trauma, such as an explosion or standing in front of 130 dB speakers at a gig for hours, because those situations can cause damage to the stereocilia.

A 100 dB sound for half a second, however, isn't going to cause damage. There's no mechanism for the steroids to act on. If the hearing system were that fragile, the entire world would already be deaf. There would be no drummers, no rock musicians, and no construction workers.

In my opinion, it's more likely to be a spike caused by an overactive nervous system that has come to associate sound with danger. Not all spikes mean physical damage has occurred. I think the best approach is to try to stay calm, exercise, stay hydrated, and prioritize sleep. NAC has shown promise in preventing noise-induced hearing loss, but it won't reverse damage that has already been done.

I think the potential problem is when the hearing or ear condition has already been compromised by damage. If there's been injury in the auditory system, that's when the risk grows. Still, your evaluation makes sense, and it's my hope that it applies in my case, especially.

I'm worried because I don't recall having a spike like this for quite some time. I know I've had one similar to my latest, but it was a long time ago, and I don't remember whether it went back to baseline or if I just adapted. There wasn't much I could do about it then. What I don't want is to get worse now, because I was already struggling with how things were.

With the current spike, I'm waiting for it to settle down. Most of my recent spikes have settled relatively quickly, but I don't think I'll be that lucky this time. I really hope you're right that a loud sound around 100 dB, like a truck dumping salt in a garage, for just half a second (twice) won't cause damage. I believe it's mostly damage that shifts a baseline, although my overactive nervous system might prolong the spike. But in the end, it should still return to baseline. I hope so. :-/