Things to Do After New Sound Exposure?

So I went to a very loud show last night. I took all the precautions I could... wax earplugs first and then an external, over the ear sound blocking headset. It was not enough. My T has gotten quite a bit louder this morning. I can hope it is only a temporary spike but I want to do whatever I can do ensure that it is... for example I am going to take some magnesium supplements. Does anyone know what kind of magnesium to take? Is it worth going to a clinic to try and get some sort of steroid for the ears? Anything else worthwhile to do 24-48 hours after an exposure?

 

If you wore wax plugs and then over the ear protection, I would suggest your spike is mostly from anexity

But to answer your question. Try taking NAC, and steroids if really worried.

 

What's NAC? And the steroids... can they be done at a regular clinic or do I need to find a specialist quickly. I am traveling in Japan so am far away from my usual medical providers.

 

Prednisone Steroids can be prescribed by any doctor. No specialists required.

Nac is discussed here https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/

 

What kind of show was it and how long? With the protection i doubt you did anything major.

 

I see a lot of people talking lightly about steroids here (prednisone), any idea what these do to your body and organs in the long run. i would only take them after an acute acoustic trauma. There's even little proof they do anything at all for your hearing, unless in case of SSHL.
Give your ears a proper rest, avoid noise, take magnesium and maybe NAC and sleep it off.

 

I doubt your spike is even real. You're probably being paranoid and noticing your time more.
If you actually have a spike, I apologise for assuming. Like Paulie says it could be anxiety.

 

I think it was a bit more than just anxiety but it is hard to tell and I think it is starting to settle down now so I am going to skip the steroids. They seem like they are not entirely harmless either. The show was called http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/ It is so loud they hand out external "earmuff" type hearing protection (although only 1 in 20 audience members use it). I used both their protectors and my wax internal earplugs.

 

Wouldn't it be more practical for the band to lower the volume instead of handing out earmuffs?

 

You are totally right, but being a musician that enjoyed loud bands, it is more than just making it louder.

When a band plays at high volume the music almost becomes "tactile". You can feel the bass drum pounding in your chest like a second heartbeat, the bass guitar rattles your guts, and the ferociously loud guitar is disorienting in a pleasant way. Essentially, it makes the musical experience much more intense. That is, if a band can use those dynamics properly. For every one band that uses high volume as something to enhance the experience, there are about ten that use volume as a mask to try and facilitate some sort of excitement.

That being said, a band can be dynamic and create an intense experience without excessive organ shaking volume. It is just that some bands choose to use high volume as a part of their experience and some of them do a fantastic job of it.

But for the question of "but is it safe?" Hell no! Bands like this can and will damage your hearing as well as the musicians hearing. It is just a matter of "is it worth it?" For me, it is not. I prefer quieter stuff now.

BUT TO ANSWER OP'S QUESTION:
Take NAC, Magnesium, and Vitamin B and get some good rest. You will more than likely be fine, but shows may have to become something that you used to do. What type of band did you see OP?

 

It was a crazy Japanese show in Tokyo called Robot Restaurant: http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/

It was insanely loud. Louder than most concerts I have been too in my past... but almost no one took the complementary ear protectors. I just looked at the other members of the audience in horror when the drums and indoor fireworks came out and most of them took it on naked ears. They were loud even through my double layers of protection.

 

Yes Japan is loud - I bet the staff doing these shows all year long don't wear protection either and are just fine

 

I had this Japanese worker in his 40's do work all day long using a large jackhammer cutting concrete inside an enclosed concrete garage ... Loud as hell was an understatement .. So I brought him a pair of ear muffs but he very decisively declined to use those

To this day I cannot understand how he was able to hear anything at the end of the day.. But he did seem fine

 

The staff had no visible hearing protection. I guess some of us are just more delicate than others.

 

Rings-a-bell

I doubt that you hurt your ears, "this time", I'm sorry but at the same time I have to say this. " Why in the world would you take such a chance, even going to see a band so loud, that they were handing out hearing protection at the door going in ? " Is it really worth a possible life long increase in your tinnitus and or loss of your hearing ? I mean really ?

I would have never had taken the chance. I used to play in a band for many years before I got tinnitus, and I loved it, but when I got tinnitus and the doctor told me " You need to choose,,, either you stay in the band and risk increasing my tinnitus, and or loose my hearing for life,,, or leave the band and keep my hearing intact ?" It was an easy choice. I got OUT right away, that was the only answer, the intelligent choice. And to this day,,, I never regretted that choice. I only wish that I knew then what we all know now about the dangers that come with loud sounds.

I don't know how old you are, I am assuming that you are fairly young, but If I were you, you might want to consider staying away from loud bands and concerts. But I doubt that you will.


Good Luck


Louie

Quietatnight

 

The doctoe said you would lose your hearing totally if you attended one more concert?? Jeeze thats scary.

 

Sam Bridge

No, he said If I continued "PLAYING IN A BAND" that I would destroy my hearing. At that time I was playing in a very Loud Rock Band 5 nights a week, it was my profession. So I had to find a new carrier, and so I went back to school and got into an entirely different line of work.



Louie

Quietatnight

 

ah ok. 5 nights a week that is alot man! That kind of thing makes me wonder about the guys in Metallica,Iron Maiden, even the Rolling Stones and bands like that. These guys must have some significant hearing loss and maybe T as well but they keep on going, it boggles my mind!

 

Sam Bridge

I agree with you, a lot of famous musicians have very bad tinnitus, and your right they just keep playing I will never understand it. But I have to be honest, it was not only playing in the band, I went to a lot of loud concerts over the years before I got tinnitus. I saw Ted Nugnet ( cat scratch fever tour ) in a small place, it had to be the loudest concert I was ever at, We are talking LOUD,,, and I wasn't even wearing ear plugs. I was young, and stupid, I just didn't know better. I thought I was indestructible

But, you know what's done is done. Like I said I'm just glad I got out of the band and stopped going to the concerts when I did, or I know I would have been in a lot worse shape, much sooner in my life.



Louie

Quietatnight

 

Actually I almost never go to concerts. I am in my 40s and loud dance clubs are pretty rare now too. I work in a quiet home environment. The audiologist can't figure out why I've got hearing loss in the 4000hz range that is consistent with working in a loud environment.

As for this show/concert.... it was my first since coming down with T 3.5 months ago. I am still figuring out my new limitations. I thought with the double layers of protection it would be safe.

 

I have a funny thing to add here. I recently saw a tv show where William Shatner and some friends toured Japan and went to the same crazy loud performance that I did. He's a well known T sufferer but he didn't seem to be bothering with any earplugs in the show. Go figure...

 

Guess it's already high...can it get even higher though? In fact is there an upper limit in pitch, volume?

 

How do you know he wasn't wearing any earplugs? Some of them are really inconspicuous.

 

True enough... he probably was... but let me tell you... it was fricken loud with both internal plugs AND external (earmuff) protection. I wouldn't want to just rely on one. But maybe after you've had T for 40 years instead of 4 months like I was back then, you stop caring about it as much.