Shotgun Blast Caused Tinnitus, Clogged Feeling and Sound Sensitivity

I wanted to introduce myself and thank you for any advice. On June 28, 2020, I suffered from acoustic shock to my hearing (three blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun in an indoor shooting range by another shooter, who shot before I had a chance to put on my ear protection, which I should have worn before I walked into the room). One problem I have is getting over the stupidity of this. I am not sure how to deal with that, and if any of you have any suggestions. Getting over such a stupid mistake is very difficult.

The other thing I would like to know is this: I am six weeks out since the incident, and I would like to know from your experience how many weeks out is there still room for improvement with the clogged feeling and the ringing. I don't want false hope, but rather an honest assessment of how often can people have improvements after 6 weeks from a noise trauma.

I have gone to an ear doctor. I was on NAC from day 2, and then prednisone as of day 16 for 10 days. Now I am on steroid shots in my arm by the name of Kenalog.

In my case, I have three symptoms.

1. In my left ear is a clogged feeling, like when you are on an elevator. For parts of the day, it goes away. But other parts of the day, I feel the clogged feeling, and I can hear an echo of my own voice in my ear. Today, for example, the clogged feeling seems to have slightly improved, but it comes and goes.

2. In both ears, there is a ringing, but it is significantly louder in the right ear. The right ear also feels a stinging or numbness. At night, I can hear the ringing in my right ear quite clearly. During the day, it fades with the other noise of everyday life

3. Both ears are sensitive to sound, though that seems to have improved.

I am wondering if people here can share your experiences with improvement, and how many weeks out is there still hope for improvement. I also really wonder if you have suggestions on how to mentally get past such a stupid mistake, where 5 seconds of not thinking can cause a lifetime problem.

Thanks for any suggestions and advice.

Sincerely,

Tom

 

HI @Tom 2020

Many things can cause tinnitus and the most common is exposure to loud noise. In your case it is exposure to gunshots. Listening to music through headphones/earbuds at too high a volume and for long durations can cause it too. Tinnitus can also be caused by an underlying medical problem within the auditory system.

My advice is not use headphones even at low volume and be careful of further exposure to loud sounds. If you are sensitive to sound you may have a condition known as hyperacusis, that is often associated with NIT. The best treatment for noise induced tinnitus in the early stages which you are in is to do nothing. Please click on the links below and read my articles that you might find helpful. Try to avoid quiet rooms and surroundings especially at night by using a sound machine by the bedside to play nature sounds. More about this is explained in my articles. Stress and anxiety can affect people with tinnitus especially in the early stages so talk to your doctor if you are being affected.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Dear Michael:

Thanks very much for your reply.

Eight weeks have gone by since my acoustic trauma incident. In both my ears, there is still a subtle clogged feeling, like if you went on an elevator, and felt you had to unclog your ears. Sometimes when I take a shower, for an hour or so, they feel less clogged. This clogged sensation began with the acoustic trauma. In your experience, is there still a chance that this will get better in time? If so, what range of time can it take? At what point should I basically expect to not see any improvement? Thanks again for your insights.

 

I got my tinnitus from a gun range. I had earmuffs on, but I was next to a rifle lane and they shot something several times that was tremendously loud that buffeted me.

I'm not sure if it's helpful but in the following post is a graph of how my tinnitus came down. So within a month it had improved quite a bit. I got on prednisone a little late, but was taking it by day 12 and I think it helped.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/coming-into-new-awareness.27547/page-3#post-371310

Don't beat yourself up over the mistakes of the past. Your job is now to be a person who is wiser and grow to be able to adapt.

 

Nine weeks have gone by since my acoustic trauma incident from a shotgun blast (I did not yet put my ear protection on, and the guy next to me shot his gun).

In both my ears, there is still a subtle clogged feeling, like if you went on an elevator, and felt you had to unclog your ears. Sometimes when I take a shower, for an hour or so, they feel a bit less clogged. This clogged sensation began with the acoustic trauma.

Does anyone here have this sensation?

If so, did it go away in time, and if so, what range of time can it take to go away?

At what point should I basically expect to not see any improvement?

Thanks again for your insights.