Member- Oct 2, 2017
- 419
- Tinnitus Since
- 09/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Years of excessively loud headphone use
Recently I mentioned I got my first job (Yipee!). I was very scared of the noise and the ear piece I was required to wear. But turns out everything was just fine I'm quite grateful for it. In fact its actually made my Hyperacusis better.
Before I mentioned noise related problems about my commute to work. Here is how I solved that:
Going to and from work I need to ride my bike 2 miles both ways each. Not a problem. I use a helmet with these handy dandy things called Cat Ears they reduce the decibels of wind noise so wind isn't problematic. Not to mention its better to wear a helmet than no helmet. (For obvious reasons). I typically work in the morning where there aren't so many cars on the first half of my commute. I don't wear earplugs usually at this time. Even though there are passing cars. The sound is very bearable since it isn't constant. When riding home from work I typically get off at rush hour (how lovely). So I wear earplugs for about 50% of my way back while I ride past a busy highway on the sidewalk. Granted I understand many people are not fond of me wearing earplugs around busy roads. However, I am very mindful of everything that is going on around me. Wearing earplugs at this time keeps me from spiking from loud horns, sirens and motorcycles.
The radio earpiece at work is actually not near as bad as I thought. Let me show you.
As shown the earpiece does not go fully inside the ear canal. Leaving room for other sounds to come through. So it has not caused me any problems so far. Maybe a tiny tiny spike (that goes away quick) but nothing to write home about. Which I am very grateful for. Not to mention I can turn the volume down on the radio. Which is perfect!
My work is not extremely loud. However, there is music playing. I'm a cashier, I have to talk to people. If I can't hear my customer from 3 to 4 feet away then what's the point?
My managers were very understanding of my situation. One of my managers daughter has sound hypersensitivity as well. Granted I'm not sure if its Hyperacusis since I didn't label my condition as "Hyperacusis" when expressing my concerns to my manager. Fortunately, she still understood my plea. For that I am so grateful for.
During training, the sound of the register opening and closing was awful. The peep that the bar-code scanner makes was even worse. I came home my first day after training, worried and exhausted. But I told myself that I can't leave now. I'm glad I didn't. During my 2nd day of training mid way through my shift the beep of the bar-code scanner and the opening and closing of the register was less loud and painful. I was shocked and excited. I came home that day and screamed. (Because, that's what you normally do. Duh!). And my scream was tolerable. Granted there was a slight uncomfortable feeling from the scream. But, I knew that my H had just gotten a whole lot better in the matter of 7 hours. Later that week it continued to stay that way. It may have gotten a little worse since inside my home isn't as loud as my work. However, I could still scream and be just fine.
Working around all types of frequencies at different decibels has forced my brain to adapt. I have been working for about 1 month now and my H has seen drastic improvements. I am ever so grateful to my managers for calling me back and offering me the job and also hiring. I am ever so grateful because I feel alive again. I can live. This whole experience has truly a life saver. Granted I still have H but I can do stuff now.
I held off from posting this because I wanted to see how things would turn out. Everything turned out better than I expected.
After nearly 7 months of H I am better than I have ever been.
Before I mentioned noise related problems about my commute to work. Here is how I solved that:
Going to and from work I need to ride my bike 2 miles both ways each. Not a problem. I use a helmet with these handy dandy things called Cat Ears they reduce the decibels of wind noise so wind isn't problematic. Not to mention its better to wear a helmet than no helmet. (For obvious reasons). I typically work in the morning where there aren't so many cars on the first half of my commute. I don't wear earplugs usually at this time. Even though there are passing cars. The sound is very bearable since it isn't constant. When riding home from work I typically get off at rush hour (how lovely). So I wear earplugs for about 50% of my way back while I ride past a busy highway on the sidewalk. Granted I understand many people are not fond of me wearing earplugs around busy roads. However, I am very mindful of everything that is going on around me. Wearing earplugs at this time keeps me from spiking from loud horns, sirens and motorcycles.
The radio earpiece at work is actually not near as bad as I thought. Let me show you.
As shown the earpiece does not go fully inside the ear canal. Leaving room for other sounds to come through. So it has not caused me any problems so far. Maybe a tiny tiny spike (that goes away quick) but nothing to write home about. Which I am very grateful for. Not to mention I can turn the volume down on the radio. Which is perfect!
My work is not extremely loud. However, there is music playing. I'm a cashier, I have to talk to people. If I can't hear my customer from 3 to 4 feet away then what's the point?
My managers were very understanding of my situation. One of my managers daughter has sound hypersensitivity as well. Granted I'm not sure if its Hyperacusis since I didn't label my condition as "Hyperacusis" when expressing my concerns to my manager. Fortunately, she still understood my plea. For that I am so grateful for.
During training, the sound of the register opening and closing was awful. The peep that the bar-code scanner makes was even worse. I came home my first day after training, worried and exhausted. But I told myself that I can't leave now. I'm glad I didn't. During my 2nd day of training mid way through my shift the beep of the bar-code scanner and the opening and closing of the register was less loud and painful. I was shocked and excited. I came home that day and screamed. (Because, that's what you normally do. Duh!). And my scream was tolerable. Granted there was a slight uncomfortable feeling from the scream. But, I knew that my H had just gotten a whole lot better in the matter of 7 hours. Later that week it continued to stay that way. It may have gotten a little worse since inside my home isn't as loud as my work. However, I could still scream and be just fine.
Working around all types of frequencies at different decibels has forced my brain to adapt. I have been working for about 1 month now and my H has seen drastic improvements. I am ever so grateful to my managers for calling me back and offering me the job and also hiring. I am ever so grateful because I feel alive again. I can live. This whole experience has truly a life saver. Granted I still have H but I can do stuff now.
I held off from posting this because I wanted to see how things would turn out. Everything turned out better than I expected.
After nearly 7 months of H I am better than I have ever been.
Well done and I wish you all the best for the future.
I wonder if it is because I have been sheilding myself from unpleasant sounds? I use sound enrichment at night and I don't overprotect but I do try to avoid subjecting myself to too much unpleasant noise.
