Terrified from Noise Induced Tinnitus and Pain

I'm terrified and ENT visit has not eased my fears.....

My story began after attending a concert a month ago. As an avid concert attendee, I've never given much thought to hearing protection. I've been to many loud rock shows with no ill effects over the years. In fact, my hearing has always been spectacular. For this show in particular, we had pit tickets which put me right in front of the stage. Due to the few hours of tailgating beforehand, and my excitement to see this band, I never thought of the ill effects of being so close. Making it worse, we ended up aligned almost dead center to the speaker stacks because of the surrounding crowd. In the few days immediately afterwards, I felt fine.....

Problem #2: I'm an audiophile and have an amazing home theater setup in a dedicated room in my basement. In the week after the concert, I had a few friends stop by on two different days who wanted to hear it for the first time. It can easily peak at 96db or so if I play it loud enough, and during this time we might have gotten there a few times, but otherwise it was lower, in the 80's. We didn't spend more than 20 minutes listening and I never thought anything of it.

In the following days, I began to feel some pain in my ears. I can't say I heard any T symptoms, but the irritating pain was noticeable. My ears also felt a bit "full" which was enough to scare me. My newborn son had a ENT appointment coming up and I decided to make one for myself as well to see what type of damage I may have done. My hearing test came back as completely normal. The tech said there were very minor signs of a downward trend in the high frequency but it's probably due to the fact that I'm 40 now and my hearing will gradually trend that way anyhow. Otherwise I passed with flying colors. I also ordered custom molded hearing protection while I was there to avoid this in the future.

Why am I writing now? I still have some bothersome ear pain which he said perhaps a course of steroids would help if I call back. I haven't yet but am planning on it. I also hear some minor ringing in my ears when in silent places. This could have always been there as far as I know, but I'm hypersensitive to my ears right now and focus on every little thing. Can T start a month after noise exposure? Can T be temporary? What confidence can I have in the hearing test or will I wake up one day with terrible hearing from this? Finally, I love music, enough to build a very extensive system in my home. Aside from the major investment, I would prefer to continue enjoying it. Sure, I can turn the volume down, and have definitely learned a lesson here. From what I've read, less than 85db can usually be handled for 8 hours straight before it becomes dangerous. I never listen for that long, so is it safe to say I could do that for maybe an hour or so, especially since music is not sustained at that volume the entire time as songs shift from loud to slower often. Or, is it time to retreat into a shell, sell all of my gear and never attend a concert again? That would be a terrible alternative, but the fear of not hearing is crippling. And this slight ringing isn't too fun either....

 

Mine began 11 days after.

 

Sounds sensible, provided you think it is a good idea to do everything to you can to ensure you don't suffer from this debilitating condition for the rest of your life.

 

Try not worry about the cause for now as it does sound like noise trauma.
Give your ears some quieter time with relaxing music and no deep base and avoid earphones or headphones for now and keep music low and protect your ears from now on.
Your ears are telling you they don't like really loud music but over time it could settle so dont take chances with loud music even with plugs as sound can travel through your mastoid bone.
Love glynis

 

Hi @dmk118

I am also an Audiophile, with a dedicated listening room that is acoustically treated. You can still go to concerts and listen to your HI-FI but you need to be more careful of loud sounds. If you listen to music through headphones then I advise you to not use them for a while. Give it a couple of months to make your ears settle. When you resume keep the volume low. If you don't use headphones that's even better. Please click on the links below and read my articles. They cover tinnitus, treatment and coping methods. There is also advice regarding going to clubs and concerts. Try to read them in full and not skim through them.

Please don't think wearing earplugs means you'll always be protected from louds sounds as this isn't the case. You still need to be careful, as sound can be transferred to the inner ear by bone conduction.

All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/ear-protection.12216/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-earplugs-and-nightclubs.18059/

 

Thank you very much! I have a nice pair of Sennheiser headphones that I have not, and will not touch for some time. As for the home system, mine is a dedicated, treated room as well. The sound can get very loud, and yes, I admit that I have done that a few too many times in the past. I believe that the combination of the concert, followed directly by HI-FI listening did not give my ears a chance to rest. I can only hope it's not permanent damage. I really do not want to be reactionary and get rid of my gear, but was hoping for a happy medium. Sure, I won't attempt to reach over 90db's in the future, but I do enjoy music at a high volume. Perhaps I'll wear my earplugs when listening, but that seems silly being that I control the volume. I just wish there was a way to assure I could listen at a medium-high volume and be ok as long as this experience has taught me to stay away from the very high sounds.

 

my T started 3 days after a loud concert. It only lasted for 1 day, so i didnt pay much attention to it. I went to another concert the following week (this time wearing 15db ear plugs) and this time the T started 4 days after that concert and its been 4 month and has never gone away since.

 

Damn, sorry to hear that. This is exactly what I fear. I can hear a faint ringing in a quiet room, but I'm not sure if it's because I'm hyper-focused on it or if it's T.

 

Not to sound rude or anything, but when i read you or bill bauer for that matter, tell people suffering from noise trauma that t settles down or will fade away, is almost like giving false hope. Ive read many stories here in this forum, and new people coming to this forum ever day traumatized and scared, from this disorder that ultimately leads to become a chronic disease. Those who recover or heal comes in very small numbers, maybe 10 of 100. Tinnitus is something you can get very fast by listening to headphones. I never exposed myself to any dangerous noise as long as i can remember, and my hearing was n is good. But it didnt take more then 45 min of earplugs with DB of 60 to 90 to give me this constant ringing. When ur t is constant all the time it might stay that way forever

 

@Freeatlast ,
My post does say
Your ears are telling you they don't like really loud music but over time it "could" settle so dont take chances with loud music .
The member as only had it a month and to soon to say it's for good.
Love glynis

 

HI @dmk118
It sounds like you're very much into your music the same as me. I no longer listen to music through headphones and that has been the case for 21 years now. Sennheiser make some splendid Headphones. I remember the Orpheus, costing £10,000 back when I used to listen. A tube/valve setup. I used to listen through Beyer.

Just take it easy with the volume on your HI-FI. There is really no need to listen at 80db if your system is good enough. I would be interested to hear the type of rig you have? I use valve/tube amplifcation. 300B parallel sigle ended amplfier driving ProAc D28 speakers. CD player is: Marantz SA11S3. Turntable: Clearaudio Emotion. Cables are all High-End made by the chord company. I use Mains condtioning throughout by Nordost QX4s and Isoloation equipment supports made by Atacama.

All the best
Michael

 

First of all. you are no more of an expert than anyone else here. And to say 10 out of 100 is just a number you pulled out of your a$$. You have no proof of your claim. Many member here are speaking of their personal recovery from T.
Looks like you have had T for 2-3 months, so to say you will have it forever is simply not true. T can take up to 2 years to fade before it is permanent.

 

Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same. The type of tinnitus a person has and what caused it also makes a difference to how one is able to cope with it. When caused by "noise trauma" in many cases it is experienced differently to someone that has tinnitus due to hearing loss or a peroblem with the inner ear Osterphorosis - as hyperacusis (over sensitivity to sound ) is not usually present.

You have recently aquired tinnitus and may not be aware of a few things. Although the most common cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise, many people do habituate to it within the first 6 months to a year and it can also go away. I agree with @Bill Bauer and @glynis and will say, for many people tinnitus does reduce to a level they can comfortably live with. However, it is also true that it can be very debilitating for some people that have it severe and I have experienced this many times. I have habituated and my tinnitus is variable in intensity from compelete silence, mild, moderate and severe.

Please click on the links below and read my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View, that you might find helpful.
All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

I'm trying to take it easy on the home system, but music is so enjoyable at a louder volume. I fear I'm now going to miss out on something I've enjoyed my whole life and have a passion for. Anyhow, I have B&W 802D3 speakers, McIntosh amps, Marantz AV7703, Rotel DAC, SVS Sub, B&W In-wall surrounds. Needless to say, the 802D3's are nothing short of amazing but they can be "bright" which let's you quickly know when you've played too high of a frequency

 

You have a very nice setup. I know of the McIntosh amps but never heard them and know they are HI-End. B&W make fabulous speakers. Try changing the cables to tame the brightness. I use Chord Signiture speaker cables and Indigo Interconnets. If you haven't heard the Nordost Mains purifiers QX4 then I advise you to do so. They are not a mains conditioner as such and will work alongside any mains condtioner that you have. Once you hear the difference they make in your system you'll never want to be without it I promise you. Expensive though.

I still believe you can reduce the volume and enjoy your music. However, I tend to mainly listen to: classical, opera and Jazz Fusion. David Sanborn, Michael Franks, Bob James etc.
All the best
Michael

 

Sorry to respond so long after you’ve made this comment but that’s so scary! What noise was it? Did it go down ever?

I had a fire alarm exposure 4 days ago for 2-3 min with no protection at about 105-110 dB and I’m so scared it’ll just get worse