Severe Tinnitus Spike After Concert Despite Hearing Protection

[Paulie87]

Hi All,

I'm going through a very difficult period right now and blaming myself for my current state, even though I truly feel I did everything I could to minimise symptoms while still trying to enjoy life.

I've had tinnitus since I was twenty two, back in 2009 after a rock concert. I developed reactive tinnitus, hyperacusis, and other issues that took about six months to settle.

Since then, I've had spikes and was diagnosed with Meniere's, but I always managed to come out the other side, even though the tinnitus never disappeared. Unfortunately, back in May, after living with all of this for so long, I went to a concert and removed my earplugs for half the event. I was left with quite loud tinnitus, and the anxiety made everything worse. It took months to improve, and I ended up in hospital after overdosing because I didn't think I could handle it.

I had one last concert planned for last week, after feeling much better for the past couple of months. I wore Loops Experience 2 earplugs for the entire show. It was loud, but never uncomfortable. My iPhone measured the average at 103 decibels, so with the seventeen decibels of reduction these plugs provide, I thought the 2.6 hours would be manageable. I didn't take them out once.

When the concert ended, I didn't have any increase in tinnitus, although I felt a little fullness in my left ear. I started panicking and went straight onto a high dose of Prednisone two days later, and then I began taking 40 mg of Propranolol to calm the rise in my heart rate. Now I think that by reacting this way, and by being so anxious, I've caused the spike myself. My tinnitus is now louder than ever, even a week later.

Would I be right to think that the best step is to taper off the Prednisone and Propranolol and focus on managing my stress? I'm blaming myself for going to the concert at all, even though I know I took sensible precautions. I'm starting to think the medication and anxiety made things worse than the noise exposure itself.

The ringing is so shrill and high pitched at night that I had to use Ozlo Sleepbuds just to fall asleep. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kam75]

Hi @Paulie87, your situation is similar to mine (not exactly in every way, but it reminds me of my own story). You can find my testimony here.

I first developed tinnitus in 2012, at the age of twenty-one, in a pub in Manchester. I was wearing earplugs at the event, but I removed them for a few minutes so I could hear my friends, and that brief exposure was enough for me to develop this condition.

At that time, I had only one tinnitus sound, and it was very soft. I did not have hyperacusis, and I was able to live a normal life.

My life became a nightmare in 2019 at a music festival. I developed four additional sounds, including a dental drill tone, an electric tone, a pipe sound, and a high-pitched tone, along with hyperacusis.

The most frustrating part is that I was wearing custom-made hearing protection rated for a 25 dB reduction during the festival. I should never have suffered acoustic trauma. The festival did not comply with permitted decibel limits.

My life has been hell ever since, with no social life and no sleep, despite a cocktail of heavy medication I take every night.

Three years ago, things started to improve a little, so I began going to parties again with hearing protection, but I bitterly regret it. It made my tinnitus considerably worse.

For the past few weeks, I have been hearing a new sound, similar to a vacuum cleaner or a jet engine. I do not know the cause, since I have been living like a hermit for three years now. It might be Mirtazapine, but I cannot be certain.

Unfortunately, I have no advice to offer, although I wish I did. My only warning is to never expose yourself to loud music again.

I see from your profile picture that you are holding a baby. I assume the child is yours. You probably have a husband as well, so I encourage you to keep going for them.

I have to endure this on my own at thirty-four years old.

Best wishes.

 

[Paulie87]

Hi @Paulie87, your situation is similar to mine (not exactly in every way, but it reminds me of my own story). You can find my testimony here.

I first developed tinnitus in 2012, at the age of twenty-one, in a pub in Manchester. I was wearing earplugs at the event, but I removed them for a few minutes so I could hear my friends, and that brief exposure was enough for me to develop this condition.

At that time, I had only one tinnitus sound, and it was very soft. I did not have hyperacusis, and I was able to live a normal life.

My life became a nightmare in 2019 at a music festival. I developed four additional sounds, including a dental drill tone, an electric tone, a pipe sound, and a high-pitched tone, along with hyperacusis.

The most frustrating part is that I was wearing custom-made hearing protection rated for a 25 dB reduction during the festival. I should never have suffered acoustic trauma. The festival did not comply with permitted decibel limits.

My life has been hell ever since, with no social life and no sleep, despite a cocktail of heavy medication I take every night.

Three years ago, things started to improve a little, so I began going to parties again with hearing protection, but I bitterly regret it. It made my tinnitus considerably worse.

For the past few weeks, I have been hearing a new sound, similar to a vacuum cleaner or a jet engine. I do not know the cause, since I have been living like a hermit for three years now. It might be Mirtazapine, but I cannot be certain.

Unfortunately, I have no advice to offer, although I wish I did. My only warning is to never expose yourself to loud music again.

I see from your profile picture that you are holding a baby. I assume the child is yours. You probably have a husband as well, so I encourage you to keep going for them.

I have to endure this on my own at thirty-four years old.

Best wishes.

Funnily enough, the band I saw a week ago was Oasis. Manchester, right?

It is frustrating, since both Liam and Noel Gallagher have tinnitus, yet the gig still averaged around 103 dB. You would think these rock stars would know or care. My earplugs were rated at 17 dB. Even if they did not perform quite as well as advertised, that still puts the exposure under 90 dB for about two hours and forty minutes, and I had no spike in ringing afterward. The whole thing is driving me nuts, because by that logic, almost anything above 70 or 80 dB would be considered dangerous.

By the way, I am a man, and the picture is of my wife and our oldest son. They mean the world to me, and I feel like I am failing them.

One positive thing is that ChatGPT has been giving me better advice than most ENTs or online sources have offered (and I am not referring to you). I am actually surprised. I specifically told it not to be unrealistically positive, yet it has still given me useful tips and reminded me that things can improve with time. It even drew me a diagram explaining that bone conduction at 103 dB is not dangerous, even though I have seen people say here that bone conduction through earplugs is the cause of all this.