Sudden Unilateral Deafness After Spending 2x 15 Minutes in a Server Room (60 dB)...?

Hi all,

How are we today?

So I've had tinnitus for a little over 2 months now and recently experienced a slight episode. About 2 weeks ago, I went drinking at a restaurant with family over Christmas. Tinnitus got worse but a week later, it subsided again.

Today I spent 2x 15 minutes in a server room, where it was approx 60 dB. When I got home, my right ear seemed to be blocked... As if I couldn't hear as well as the left ear. It feels as if I hear 20% less in my right ear now.

1. What happened?
2. Is this common?
3. Can I expect more of this?
4. What caused this?
5. Is this possibly a temporary setback?

As always, freaking out again, but love all of you.

Be well

M

 

Have you been exposed to noises louder then 60db for over an hour without these consequences?

 

60 db sounds, in general, should not cause a problem.

However, I did read about one person who claims he got T from working IT in a server room, so anything is possible. Can try some protection next time. I find I am more sensitive to certain frequencies than others.

 

@Michael Barton I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you, it's so stressful when we are worried about our ears.
I'm not sure what happened as 60db isn't really harmful level of noise.
Do you have a baseline level audiogram? If so, I'd consider getting another one done to see if you have in fact lost some hearing.
Sudden hearing loss can occur, this is usually unilateral, and should be treated immediately with a course of corticosteroids for best outcome.
I hope that helps.

 

Nobody can tell over the internet.

Because of the answer to #1 (or lack of), all subsequent answers are moot.

However, if you feel you have lost some hearing, you could be victim of sudden hearing loss, which is considered an emergency. I suggest you go see a doctor at your earliest convenience, as time is of the essence for treating SSNHL (if that is what it is, which we don't know yet).

Good luck!

 

Hi @Contrast, yes the first 2 months I was cautious, they went fine with earplugs.

The latest accident was during Christmas when I was at a restaurant. I was in an environment where sounds occasionally exceeded 80db.

Since then things haven't been the same. I noticed more T in my right ear, but that faded after about 10 days.

I went to a GP immediately the night this occured, as I would consider this sudden hearing loss. They however said it wasn't, that 100% loss was considered that. Hence no Prednisone. Also was told about the downsides of the drug and just sort of came to terms with it all (just like when T first started).

@Samantha R I don't have a baseline audiogram as I'd have to visit an ENT for that, and that would set me back 385 euros. Regardless I think the loss is in the 600 MHz range (where I had self diagnosed the initial T in my right ear) which is a rather normal day-to-day talking frequency.

To all, luckily I can still hear, but T in my right ear is more, and it seems to be at the frequency at which I can't hear as well. Oddly enough, this all started 2 days ago, wasn't so bad yesterday, but is definitely back today

Has anyone had anything similar? I'll take all the stories/sympathy I can get. Many thanks

Good luck to all!

Michael

 

60 dB is below the level talking happens at. If you can tolerate people talking and yourself talking, I doubt that 60dB could do permenant damage.

Perhaps it was the type of sound coming from the server fans that aggravated it? High pitched or something?

I would assume that this maybe is a coincidence of events and not a noise induced trauma event.

 

1. you wore out your ears
2. yes
3. not much if you take care of yourself in the future
4. noise, if I sleep with a fan on higher than the lowest setting, which still isn't very loud, it spike my T bad
5. yes it probably is temporary, go try something called Curcumin, I feel it helped me alot, also avoid loud sounds

 

take magnesium if a doctor won't give you a steroid, it can restore limited amounts of hearing.
nothing spectacular, a steroid may be = to it in terms of preventing hearing loss

I think steroids and magnesium work by preventing hair cells from dying, not actually restoring any damaged tissue in the ear.

 

Where in Europe do you live? Do you have healthcare coverage that would help with the 385 Euros? It's really useful to have an audiogram as baseline - it'll help you see evolution but could also point out problems right off the bat, especially if you do bone conduction & speech in noise testing.

Your loss is nowhere near 600 MHz, as human hearing is limited to 20 kHz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_range). The best guess I can derive from your sentence would be that you meant 6 kHz, which is actually higher than talking frequency (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_frequency).

Good luck!

 

Wow, that's hugely expensive for an appointment, would be out of reach of a lot of people I would have thought.
I'm from Australia, and and ENT visit would cost about 1/4 of that price and we'd get a rebate from Medicare on top.
Also, we don't have to visit an ENT for a hearing test, this is done by audiologists. Do you have audiologists that practice separate to ENT's? Surely a hearing test shouldn't cost that much.

 

I did my audiogram with the Android Hearing Test app. I figured this was had control of the volume set to low to not injure anything further. It was a good screen, and to reassure myself my hearing was still ok, as have not experienced any deficits in daily activities. It is also useful as can repeat it serially and track results.

While certainly not a replacement for a full audiologist evaluation, it was free, easy, and saved me from further testing. It also tests over 8 Hz.

 

@Michael Barton Not sure how or why you had this happened at such low noise levels, but hearing loss like this isnt always sensorineural and can be temporary conductive loss due to middle ear dysfunctions as the muscles and nerves (trigeminal) can become sensitised. Sounds can cause them to trigger into overly protective mode.

Not saying it is this, but if it comes and goes it might be.